Simply Sakura
by Sakucherryblossoms
Summary: She was always suppose to be the weak link of team seven, but that is no longer true. After proving her strength, as well as her beauty in several sparring sessions, her teammates start to realize just how special Sakura is, and has always been.
1. Chapter 1: Welcome Home Team Seven

Simply Sakura

She was always suppose to be the weak link of team seven, but that is no longer true. After proving her strength, as well as her beauty in several sparring sessions, her teammates start to realize just how special Sakura is, and has always been. Sakura X Team Seven

I have listened to your votes on my poll, and now I shall deliver; I just hope this story holds up to all of your expectations : ) and if you don't like this story, then don't read it.

P.S. My poll is still up on my profile : ) please vote

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

Chapter 1: Welcome Home Team Seven

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><p>A pink haired teen frowned as she grabbed her bag from the locker room. It had been a long week, and the pinkette was being forced to take the next week off. Tsunade had said that Sakura being so low on chakra wouldn't help anyone in the hospital, least of all her, but that was only after Sakura had spent almost a full 48 hours of continuous healing. As she exited the hospital, Sakura was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even wave goodbye to her coworkers behind her.<p>

He had done it; Naruto had brought Sasuke back, though it had almost killed both of them in the process. That was what she had been working on for the last two days. She had spent hours stabilizing both teammates, but she had finally done it. Tsunade and Shizune had been too busy dealing with the Elders and the Council to even attempt to help Sakura with the healing. Now, there was no doubt in her mind that they would be fine, but that wasn't the thing that bothered her so much.

Naruto had left over a year ago; his mission was to find Sasuke and bring him home. Sakura had wanted to go with him; she had practically begged Tsunade to let her, but in the end it didn't matter.

Even if Tsunade had ended up saying yes, Naruto had said no. He told her he didn't want her to get hurt, and then left without saying another word. What he didn't realize, however, was that Sakura was more hurt with him leaving her than she would have been if she had actually went with him.

Her teammates could be so dense at times. Growling to herself, Sakura's thoughts turned to the other two members of team seven; those two were just as bad. Sai and Kakashi; the two had applied for a mission to follow after Naruto, and make sure he didn't get himself killed. In all actuality, Sakura had been left behind by all four of her teammates now. They had all left her behind to become stronger, but being left behind had given Sakura the incentive she needed.

A year really was a long time, and that was how long it had been since she had remotely seen anyone from her team. The isolation hurt her at first, but soon she used her loneliness to help her become stronger.

Sakura had asked Tsunade for more training and she had gotten it. Smirking slightly to herself, Sakura continued her walk through Konoha. Tsunade-sama had given Sakura extensive training, so much so that Sakura was now the second best medic in the village; second only to the Godaime herself.

Surpassing Shizune had taken only a few months after the training began; Shizune herself had even helped with a lot of Sakura's training. But the end result had been something Sakura was still not happy with; that was why she continued to train everyday.

Once all of her teammates got back, Sakura refused to watch their backs any longer. She had understood why they had left her, oh yes, she understood how weak she had been. That didn't mean she wasn't angry about them leaving, because Kami knew she was pissed off, but she understood their reasons. She wouldn't have wanted to be held back by a weak girl either. But, that wouldn't stop her from not talking to them for a few days… maybe a week even.

Sighing, Sakura looked to the apartment complex that stood before her. She had moved out of her parent's house a year ago; it had been one of the steps in starting over. She had needed to do things on her own, and living without her parents was definitely a way to do that. Sakura couldn't help but to grin as she walked to her apartment door; her roommate was already home.

"Hey Shikamaru," Sakura greeted as she opened the door. "What do you want for dinner?"

Sakura watched as Shikamaru lay on the couch with his feet up on the coffee table. His head was tilted backward, and Sakura could see that his eyes were closed; Sakura knew that didn't mean he was asleep, however, he was most likely thinking about something.

"Miso soup," Shikamaru replied as his eyes opened. Sakura smiled as she walked by him and headed to the kitchen. Hearing a sigh from the living room, Sakura knew Shikamaru was getting up to come talk to her; he was probably wondering why he hadn't seen his roommate in a week.

"Where the hell have you been, Sakura?" Shikamaru asked as he walked into the kitchen while scratching the back of his head. Shikamaru still had his brown hair tied back in a spiky pony tail, only, his hair was longer than it had been when they were chuunin. His stature had changed a little as well; he was taller and more muscular than he had been.

Everyone in the rookie nine had changed, Sakura mused to herself. "Working," she replied with a smile over her shoulder. "Sasuke and Naruto were brought into the hospital on Friday; I had been working on stabilizing them for the past two days."

"And it was successful, I am assuming," Shikamaru stated as his shoulders slouched slightly. Walking more into the kitchen, Shikamaru leaned against the counter as he watched Sakura make dinner. "We heard about Naruto and Sasuke yesterday; Tsunade called in all the rookie nine and team Gai, besides you obviously, to talk about it."

Sakura looked over her shoulder again and raised an eyebrow as if silently telling Shikamaru to continue his story. Shikamaru only shook his head with a small grin and continued.

"I guess Sasuke was finally successful in killing Itachi," Shikamaru said almost lackadaisically. "It turns out Naruto showed up before the battle, and the two killed Itachi together. Then, as stupid as those two are, they ended up trying to kill each other; you can see that didn't end to well.

"Kakashi and Sai were out on a mission, and found the two just as they were about to either pass out from lack of chakra or because of the wounds on their bodies."

"It seemed my whole team was out there without me," Sakura mused quietly to herself; she should really be used to this. "It's funny how I haven't seen either Sai or Kakashi in the village, though."

"You've been in the hospital," Shikamaru told her with a slight wave of his hand. "Sai and Kakashi actually went out for ramen after the meeting with Tsunade; they were asking about you. You should have seen the look on Kakashi's face when I told him we were living together."

Sakura couldn't fight the smile that came to her face; her and Shikamaru were an odd pair of roommates, but that was why Sakura had asked Shikamaru to be her roommate in the first place. Shikamaru and herself were considered the smartest two out of the rookie nine; living with Shikamaru had been a good choice for her.

The two both wanted to become independent, and Sakura had asked him if he wanted to live with her on one of the monthly rookie nine and team Gai get togethers. Shikamaru had agreed saying she was less troublesome than Ino. Either way, the two complimented each other nicely; Sakura knew Shikamaru had been the right choice.

"Hm, I bet Kakashi was rather displeased," Sakura said as her smile spread wider. "I'm sure he would have been more upset if I was living with Kiba though; that guy is as horny as his dog."

Shikamaru chuckled in agreement, and Sakura continued making their dinner in silence. It was what the two had become used to after living with each other for a year. Sakura would make dinner if she came home from the hospital; Shikamaru would have to fend for himself if she didn't.

And living with Shikamaru had helped Sakura create a bond with him, but not in a romantic sense. She would never be able to love Shikamaru in that way; he was more like a brother than any real blood brother could be. He protected her, listened to her, and just spent time with her; Shikamaru treated her as his equal, because in all sense, she was.

Sakura was now a jounin level ninja; she, Shikamaru, Shino, and Neji had all passed the exams together. The rookie nine knew of Sakura's strength; they knew that she still held a will to get stronger for herself, and for her teammates.

Sighing slightly, Sakura finished making the soup. "Can we train a bit after we eat?" Sakura asked as she put the soup into two bowls. "I'm afraid I don't want to get rusty after being cooped up too long in the hospital."

Shikamaru snorted at her request, but nodded nevertheless. Sakura thought sparring sessions with Shikamaru were always interesting; the guy was too smart, and Sakura always had to stay on her toes. To say the least, their sparring sessions were fun.

XxxX

Sitting in the hospital room, Kakashi finally felt relieved. Two important members of his team were finally home, and things could finally get back to normal; well at least, as normal as team seven could be.

Sighing, Kakashi switched the holding of his book from his left hand to his right. He was too distracted to even read his beloved Icha Icha, and the cause of his torment wasn't even in the room he currently resided in.

Where the hell was Sakura, and why hadn't she visited Naruto or Sasuke yet? The two, well four of them, had been in the village for almost three days now; she had to have heard, right? The idea that she would just abandon her teammates was preposterous; Kakashi had engraved how important the other members of the team were into all of team seven brains. So much for that idea Hatake, the silver haired man told himself while looking to the other two occupants in the room.

Sasuke had left his teammates behind, but Kakashi guessed he could see that one coming. As Neji would have said it, it was Sasuke's destiny to kill Itachi; Sasuke deserved to get his revenge for his family. Kakashi would have put family over his team as well, if he had family left. He had no idea that Sakura could be as cold hearted as Sasuke though. Well, maybe that wasn't it at all; maybe she was on a mission?

Sighing again, Kakashi thought on to how the pinkette was doing. The last he had heard was she had finally become a chuunin, and she was actually learning medical jutsu from the Hokage herself. But he had learned this through other of his jounin colleagues, and that had almost been a year ago. He hadn't talked to Sakura since Naruto left; he hadn't gotten a chance since then because he went after on his mission right after that.

It wasn't surprising that Sakura had really never held his attention for long, but that wasn't really her fault. It was hard to divide up the attention evenly when there was an Uchiha and the Kyuubi on the team.

Looking back to the unconscious two before him, Kakashi had to fight a smile from appearing on his face. Tsunade-sama had certainly done an excellent job healing these two; there was no way the two would have survived if anyone else had healed them. Kakashi knew Shizune's skills weren't even that good to bring back both Sasuke and Naruto from the brink of death; he would have to thank the Hokage later.

Looking to the door of the hospital room, Kakashi stood before the door was even opened; Tsunade-sama had particular kind of chakra, and Kakashi knew it was her right away. Bowing swiftly, Kakashi looked back up at the reining Hokage.

Tsunade nodded her head slightly, and walked over to read the boys charts. After scanning over the charts, while Kakashi waited anxiously in the background, Tsunade smiled. "It seemed she did an even better job than I would have expected," Tsunade said more to herself than to Kakashi. Turning to the silver haired jounin, Tsunade addressed him. "Kakashi, it seems Naruto and Sasuke could wake up any time now."

Kakashi couldn't help but raise an eye brow at the first thing that came out of the Hokage's mouth; she wasn't the one to heal the boys? Then who did? "Forgive me Hokage-sama," Kakashi said while walking over to her. "I thought you were the one to heal both Sasuke and Naruto. I was aware of their condition when they came in, and I thought they could only be healed by you."

Kakashi watched as the Hokage's mouth switched from a smile to a smirk; something wasn't right here. "You really haven't been in the village for around a year, Kakashi," Tsunade said while placing the charts back onto the boys' clip boards. "You'd be surprised at what a lot of the shinobi have accomplished in your absence."

"So Shizune-san healed Naruto and Sasuke then?" Kakashi asked as he pressed for a real answer. Why hadn't the Hokage just told him straight up who had healed the two?

"No, that would be my other apprentice," Tsunade said as her lips curved up even more, and her smirk increased. "I believe you know the one: pink hair, emerald eyes, jounin medical ninja… the list continues."

"Wait," Kakashi was dumbstruck for a second; was Tsuande-sama really talking about Sakura? "Are you talking about my student, Sakura Haruno?"

"Well she's now my student, Kakashi," Tsunade sighed with a nod of her head. "But they are one in the same. Didn't you wonder why Sakura wasn't at the meeting yesterday?"

"I actually didn't notice her absence," Kakashi muttered under his breath, but when he said it, Kakashi knew it was a lie. He had noticed immediately that Sakura was not there; a pink haired girl was hard to miss. Thinking back on it, Kakashi remembered Gai, Asuma, and Kurenai's teams all being there, but none of the other members of team seven other than Sai and himself were there.

"She was not at the meeting because she was busy healing both Naruto and Sasuke," Tsunade said while throwing a look over her shoulder; seeing that both boys had begun to stir, Tsunade sighed. "She healed those two for two days straight. With the way Sakura healed those two, I almost assumed they would have been up before now."

Hearing a slight cough, Tsunade walked over to Naruto's bed and handed him a glass of water with a straw. Turning, she handed the same thing to Sasuke. Turning back to the silver haired jounin, Tsunade raised an eye brow.

"Sakura really healed both Sasuke and Naruto?" Kakashi asked while looking to his prized students. "Did she pass out from exhaustion? Is that why she hasn't visited them yet?"

"I gave Sakura a little vacation," Tsunade said with a small frown; Kakashi never quit did he? "She had been working in the hospital for practically five days straight before she started to heal these two."

"Sakura-Chan healed us, Granny?" Naruto's voice croaked out as he tried to stand from his bed. Tsunade glared at the blond, and Naruto eased back into his bed with a slight chuckle and a nervous smile.

"Our injuries must not have been as bad as I had thought they were," Sasuke mused out loud to himself as he slowly eased his way into a leaning position. He did it slowly, and only cringed slightly as he leaned against his pillow.

Tsunade glared at the two before speaking again. "I hope you two both know that Sakura Haruno worked her ass of in healing the two of you," Tsunade said as she practically charged at the Uchiha's bed. "After you two practically killed each other, you knuckle heads, you two were on the brink of death. Sakura was able to bring both of you back, without assistance from either Shizune or myself. Sakura is a well respected medical jounin."

Tsunade watched as Naruto's mouth dropped open, and Sasuke's eyes widened slightly. Shaking her head side to side, Tsunade decided to leave the room. Was it really so hard to believe that Sakura had gotten stronger without any of team seven's help? She guessed it was hard to compare the new Sakura now to the old Sakura; her personality hadn't really changed, only matured. Sakura had just gotten stronger and older; nothing else had really changed about the young woman.

"She'll probably be at training field seven with Shikamaru soon," Tsunade said before leaving the room. "If you don't believe me about her progress, then go look for yourselves. You two are both in fine condition even though you have just woken up; I'll have Shizune give you something to take most of the pain away, and the three of you can leave."

As she left and shut the door, the only thing Tsunade heard was Naruto's voice.

"Sakura-Chan's a jounin! Sasuke, we're both still genin!"


	2. Chapter 2: A Chance to Prove Yourself

Hello everyone! I am so excited that so many people like this story, and it is only just starting. The pairings will be obviously Sakura and Team Seven, but there could possibly be some Sakura Shikamaru moments as well; you never know. : ) and thanks for all the reviews so far; fifteen and it was only the first chapter!

Chapter 2: A Chance to Prove Yourself

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

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><p>Sakura smiled as she and Shikamaru started to leave their apartment. It had been a little over a week since the two had last sparred, and Sakura was anxiously anticipating the upcoming one. Even though the two of them tied in their last battle, Sakura had not gotten any satisfaction out of the fight; of course she knew that the more spars a shinobi would fight the better all around shinobi she would be, but she couldn't help the slightly disappointed feeling she would get whenever her and Shikamaru's spar would end up a draw.<p>

Looking up to the sky, Sakura noticed the sun was still blaringly bright, but that was not unusual for the time. Looking at the placement of the sun, Sakura realized that the sun would be out for about another hour. Shikamaru's technique's would only be good for another hour, and if Sakura wanted to secure her upcoming victory, she knew she would have to stall for the next hour, at least. Sakura knew the sun's position would undoubtedly benefit her roommate more than herself. Glancing over to the brunette, Sakura noticed he was calculating this advantage as well.

"It sure is nice to have the sun out," Sakura said with a cheeky smile while she looked over to Shikamaru. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow but then shook his head. Knowing Sakura, she was probably thinking up strategies to use against his shadows already.

While she walked, Sakura thought about the last sparring session the two had shared. The two had agreed to use only ninjutsu; that in itself had been a little hard for Sakura seeing as she was an excellent taijutsu fighter, but she liked to be challenged. Maybe the two would go all out today; using everything: genjutsu, ninjutsu, and taijutsu. Sakura always promised not to use her medical jutsu until after the match; it wouldn't be fair if she was allowed to heal herself and Shikamaru wasn't.

Sakura's eyes slightly glazed over as the two walked over the familiar red bridge from Sakura's youth. Every time she would go over this particular bridge it would bring back images of team seven. Of course she missed her team, but they were all home now, and that was actually a comforting sentiment. Sakura just hoped they didn't think she was still as weak as she was when she was a genin… Seriously, if she heard Sasuke, Naruto, or Sai say one stupid weak or annoying comment Sakura would beat them within an inch of their life. And then she would probably heal them afterward, but that was besides the point.

Looking to the trail ahead, Sakura sighed. The two were finally at the training grounds. Walking over to her designated side of the field, Sakura began stretching lightly. After doing that for several minutes, Sakura sent a burst of chakra through her system that made her quiver with anticipation; it had been a week since her last spar. And now, Sakura knew she would have to win; she would never live it down if she lost to him.

Standing up from her current position, Sakura watched Shikamaru before pulling her gloves on tightly. The brunette watched her actions, and only raised an eyebrow at them. "So how do you want to do this?" Shikamaru asked as his eyes never left her fists; oh yes, Sakura's fists were legendary. Shikamaru was smart to keep an eye on them.

"Why don't we go all out?" Sakura said as a smirk eased it's way onto her face. Seeing the smirk, Shikamaru couldn't help but to flinch slightly; Sakura seemed to look more and more like the Hokage each day.

As Shikamaru nodded his head to agree to her terms, his eyes danced around his roommate's appearance. Sakura was wearing her jounin vest unzipped with a mesh three quarter sleeved shirt worn underneath it. She wore tight black spandex shorts that reached mid thigh and also wore biker gloves on her hands. The biker gloves were a gift from the Godaime; it made chakra easier to center into her fists which gave Sakura better control when dealing with her inhumane strength. The pinkette's hair was now long, dangling well below her shoulders into two braided pigtails. The woman before him was a sight that would make lesser men quiver, but Shikamaru only smirked back in challenge; he had easily gotten used to this sight.

"Start on go?" Sakura questioned as she clenched her fists open and close. Her emerald eyes were glittering with a fierceness that she had only showed within this last year, and Shikamaru could only think about how troublesome this match would be.

"Go," Shikamaru whispered as he watched his pink haired roommate disappear from view; her speed had only been one of the improvements that she had made over the last twelve months.

Scanning the training field, Shikamaru smirked before dropping to his knees to miss a chakra infused kick aimed towards his head. Rolling to the left on instinct, Shikamaru narrowly dodged a follow up punch to the stomach. Flipping backward, Shikamaru landed on his feet while only catching a tease of pink hair before she disappeared again.

Her slightly giggle was the only warning Shikamaru got before she started to attack again; he could not even sense her chakra signature, not that she gave him any time to try and feel it. She appeared a good yard and a half away from him, and quickly sent kunai flying. Shikamaru dodged the kunai easily; he knew when she threw the kunai that hurting him had not been Sakura's objective. Doing a few quick hand signs, Shikamaru muttered under his breath, "Kagemane no Jutsu."

Shikamaru's shadow quickly stretched over the training field as it connected with Sakura. Sakura smirked, but did nothing as Shikamaru slowly walked towards her causing her to walk towards him in the process. When he was within a foot of Sakura, Shikamaru paused.

The two quickly raised an eyebrow as the sensation of four new chakra signatures entered the training ground areas, but did not make themselves known; the four had chosen to stay hidden, and were hiding among the several trees within the forest. Sakura looked to Shikamaru, and Shikamaru saw the smirk that came to the pinkette's face.

"Let's give them a show, shall we?" Sakura called before her clone poofed out of Shikamaru's hold; Shikamaru knew that had been too easy. Shikamaru could only chuckle as he tried to sense her actual chakra signature this time, and not that of the clones that she had obviously made as a distraction. Sakura usually only got better when there was a crowd around to watch her, and Sakura had something to prove to the four chakra signatures hiding in the forest. There was no doubt about it, this would ultimately end bad for Shikamaru. "Kuso."

XxxX

Kakashi stood in the woods with Sasuke, Naruto, and Sai. The three decided to pick up Sai on their way to the sparring match; everyone on team seven deserved a chance to see what Sakura could do. Sai and Sasuke both would have to get used to each other though; currently the two didn't much care for one another, but that was to be expected. Sasuke only saw Sai as his replacement, and Sai only saw Sasuke as a traitor.

Kakashi tried to ignore the two's bickering as he watched Sakura poof away from Shikamaru's shadow. So she had learned how to make shadow clones, Kakashi thought with amusement as he looked over to a certain blond; I wonder who inspired her to do that.

"Why am I here to see Ugly, again?" Sai asked as he stared at the match in front of them with emotionless black eyes. Even as he said this, Sai's eyes followed every move that the pink haired kunochi made; he watched every chakra infused punch that narrowly missed Shikamaru, and every chakra infused kunai that was sent toward the shadow wielder.

"Granny said Sakura-Chan is a jounin now," Naruto said as he looked onto the match with a sense of awe in his eyes. It had been over a year since he had seen her last. Sakura had seemed to change everything: her appearance, strength… Naruto just hoped she hadn't changed her personality; he had liked his Sakura-Chan the way she was. "When did Sakura-Chan learn to move that fast?"

"If Tsunade-sama said Ugly was a jounin then she would need to move that fast, Dickless," Sai said without emotion. The four of them had arrived a few short moments ago; it had seemed that Sakura and Shikamaru had just started their spar. But that was the last thing that seemed to catch the four males' attention.

Kakashi's eye watched as his pink haired student began doing rapid hand signs, but he didn't watch her for what kind of jutsu she was using. Kakashi had not seen his student in a year, and he hadn't known that she had grown stronger; he wasn't even aware that she could have grown stronger. Kakashi had never really seen Sakura's potential, and as he watched Sakura do back flips and throw chakra infused punches everywhere, Kakashi realized he had been a failure as Sakura's teacher.

Frowning, Kakashi looked to the ground. He would need to do something to trying and make up for his mistreatment of her. All of team seven had returned, and Kakashi knew Sakura deserved at least a little attention from him; he had never given it to anyone other than Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai. Looking back up to the fight, Kakashi knew he had to make it up to her; maybe he could help her grow even stronger.

While Sasuke watched Sakura, he was thinking a little more about her technique. She was currently on offense, and it looked like she would not be stopping anytime soon. Her attacks were graceful, which was a word Sasuke never thought he would have used for his female teammate.

He was also surprised at her speed; she seemed to glide through the training field as if she were only air. Watching her disappear, and then reappear quickly from out of the ground, Sasuke noticed idly that she had grown her hair out. He couldn't help but fight a small smirk at that; he loved it when Sakura's hair was long.

XxxX

Sakura giggled as she appeared out of the ground below Shikamaru and grabbed his foot to drag him under. Sakura watched as Shikamaru quickly did a few hand signs; they were hand signs Sakura knew too well.

Frowning, Sakura disappeared down the hole again before Shikamaru's shadow could reach her. Appearing above ground once more, Sakura flipped backward as Shikamaru's shadow came rapidly toward her.

Raising an eyebrow, Sakura started to look at her surroundings, and the direction Shikamaru's shadow was making her go. He was of course planning something, and Sakura did not want any part of it, because that meant she would probably lose. Trying to think in steps like Shikamaru, Sakura noticed where Shikamaru's shadow was chasing her to: the direction of team seven.

Raising an eyebrow, Sakura watched Shikamaru smirk as she realized his plan; sometimes he believed Sakura was too smart for her own good., but in this case it didn't matter. He wanted to confront team seven, and he knew she did too. He was curious as to why the four men were here, and what they wanted with his roommate; Shikamaru wasn't stupid enough to believe they were here for himself, obviously.

Sakura smirked slightly, and nodded back to her roommate as she dodged the shadow that seemed to be moving slower than normal; of course she wanted to know why her team was here. She wanted to check on Naruto and Sasuke too, because she didn't think they should have left the hospital yet. After a near death experience, Sakura thought it was stupid to allow the boys to leave so early; they'd never learn to not try and kill each other again if Tsunade let them out early.

Sighing, Sakura closed her eyes as her feet continued their course: jump back a foot, left two feet, and then back again. Concentrating chakra into her fist, Sakura's fist was encased in a deep blue ball of chakra; this ball of chakra looked like a mix of Sakura's inhumane strength and Naruto's rasengan. If she concentrated on every hit, Sakura would be able to use this power every time, but this attack took too much time to concentrate on in battle; if this were still a real spar, Shikamaru would have had her in his shadow jutsu by now.

Sakura opened her eyes to reveal a fierce emerald. Leaping up into the air, Sakura flipped her body around so she was heading back to the earth face first. Lifting her hand with the swirling ball of chakra, Sakura slammed it into the ground about a yard from where her team was hiding. Flipping backward, Sakura escaped the fray without getting hit.

Looking back to her roommate, Sakura grinned at the sight of dust and carnage her chakra punch had caused; oh how she loved breaking things. Sakura's eyes followed the large crater cracked ground as it lead her to where her teammates had been hiding only a few short moments ago.

Hearing a groan, Sakura couldn't help the small giggle that escaped her mouth; Naruto obviously hadn't seen her last attack coming, and it was painfully obvious he had not been fast enough to dodge it once he had actually seen it. Looking to where Naruto lay, Sakura couldn't help but sigh at the sight. Naruto lay with his stomach on the ground, and Sakura could even see that a piece of ground had actually come up and hit Naruto in the side of the head. She cringed and realized she would probably have to heal that… soon.

Glancing around, Sakura tried to find where her other three teammates were, before Kakashi poofed into existence beside her. Sakura's eyes darted to the trees as she saw two raven haired males look down at her with something close to fear and astonishment in their eyes; well at least she thought it was, but she was probably wrong. The two were too far away for her to make an accurate guess on what they were thinking anyway.

Ignoring Kakashi as he tried to speak, Sakura walked over to where Naruto lay; the blow to the head would probably give him a concussion, but that wasn't what worried Sakura. Sakura was afraid Tsunade-sama would find out about her hurting people that had just left the hospital. Sakura knew the hospital was understaffed; that was why she had been working there practically nonstop. Bringing a patient that really didn't need to be there would have pissed Tsunade off, less so because it would have been Naruto, but it would have ticked the Hokage off nonetheless.

Kneeling next to the blond, Sakura quickly rolled him over so he lay on his back. Naruto, she noticed, had matured a lot in the past year. The blond's face was handsome, even with the large purple bruise that was beginning to make itself known in the middle of Naruto's forehead. His skin was tan, like always, and he no longer wore that ridiculous orange outfit.

Sakura sensed more than heard Sasuke and Sai jump down from the trees, but Sakura chose to ignore those teammates as well; she needed to heal Naruto, and maybe then, if she wasn't as upset as she was now, she would talk to them.

Doing some hand signs that Sakura had easily memorized, her hands began glowing a faint mint green. Closing her eyes for more concentration, Sakura placed both hands on top of Naruto's forehead. Pushing healing chakra into the bruise, Sakura sighed.

She wanted to confront the three males behind her, but she wasn't sure how she could. Sakura had promised herself that she would not talk to the four males for at least a week; that would make her feel better, and she hoped it would make her teammates feel bad for leaving her. She wasn't trying to make them feel horrible, but maybe a little guilt-tripping was in order.

Of course she wanted to talk to them, and ask them how their year away from her had been; Sasuke's had been more than a year, but she didn't have the patience to talk to any of them right now. She knew they all deserved a chakra enhanced punch to the gut, or face, but Sakura was trying to control her anger, and refrain from doing that. Load of good it had done her, Sakura commented to herself. Well at least she wouldn't have to hit Naruto; he had already gotten enough abuse from her.

Pulling her hands away from Naruto's head, Sakura smiled slightly noticing his bruise had disappeared. Looking to her hands, Sakura's medical chakra quickly faded out, and she started to stand. Ignoring the small groan that she heard below her, Sakura turned around to face the rest of team seven.

"Um… hey there Sakura," Kakashi said as the corners of his mask curved upwards. Kakashi quickly rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, and Sakura sighed at the sight. Why did they have to make it so hard for her to be mad at them?

"Hey… Kakashi…. Sensei," Sakura said while she started to walk towards where Shikamaru stood. The brown haired shinobi had been quiet until now; Sakura wondered what her roommate was thinking.

"So," Shikamaru drawled out as Sakura stood next to him. His eyes had not left her four teammates; he noticed that Naruto was slowly waking. "Do you want to come back to our place and have some tea or something? I feel like you guys and Sakura have a lot to talk about."

"What do you mean 'our place'?" The Uchiha spoke as his eyes narrowed. Shikamaru noticed with a slight smirk that all of team seven's males had narrowed their eyes. Oh, this was too good to be true, Shikamaru thought to himself. Ignoring the look Sakura was currently giving him, Shikamaru's smirk widened.

"Yeah, our place," Shikamaru said while giving the Uchiha a once over; oh, he really did love teasing people. Sakura wouldn't get mad if he stretched the truth a bit, would she? Nah, Shikamaru thought, he'd let her teammates come up with a conclusion on their own. "Sakura and I moved in together almost a year ago. She needed someone to be there for her when you left, and I willingly took that place."


	3. Chapt 3:Trying to Get to Know Each Other

Hey guys! Here's another update; hope you all are enjoying this story so far : ) And thank you all soo much for the reviews! I cannot believe there are 33 reviews so far; you guys rock!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

Chapter 3: Trying to Get to Know Each Other

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><p>Sakura stood in her kitchen and listened to the quietness of the room beside her. It had been quite easy to convince Sai, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto to come back to her and Shikamaru's humble abode. Sakura really hadn't known what Shikamaru had been thinking when he had invited the four over, but she couldn't stand the awkwardness of the situation; she sort of panicked.<p>

The four male members of team seven had seemed down right pissed at Shikamaru, and really, she probably couldn't blame them. Shikamaru's teasing ways had come out clear as day when he and her team had been talking. As the group of six arrived at the apartment, Sakura had left Shikamaru in the living room with the rest of team seven; she really hoped he wouldn't dig himself into a bigger hole than he already was in. She really didn't want to have to clean up the blood her team would probably leave behind if Shikamaru were to open his mouth again.

Sakura really wasn't sure how to continue their previous conversation, if she could call it that, when they had finally arrived at the apartment. Sakura had escaped the tense atmosphere in exchange for the sanctuary of her kitchen. It didn't seem right leaving her roommate alone with the glares of her teammates, but Sakura figured Shikamaru might have deserved a few of them. Either way, Sakura was happy to have the focus off of herself; she was slightly uncomfortable with the stares she was getting from her previous teammates. They had never been this interested in her before.

She really needed to make tea, anyhow. Tea always seemed to help calm her nerves and clear her mind. She also hoped it would calm Sasuke down a bit; surprisingly, he seemed to be the most irritated out of the four. Being Sakura, she remembered Sasuke always liked to drink tea; it seemed to help calm his nerves just as it helped calm her own. Sakura was just hoping for anything to help the awkwardness of the situation at hand.

The kettle's hiss seemed to be alarmingly loud compared to the stillness in the apartment. Pouring the tea into separate cups, Sakura assumed the five males would be in the same position they had been when she had left.

Shikamaru would be sitting in the lazy boy while the four other boys would be glaring daggers at her roommate. Sasuke and Naruto would be sitting in her small love seat, which would have made Sakura giggle if it had been any other time (the loveseat was barely large enough for one person, and probably shouldn't have been called a loveseat). And Sai and Kakashi would be lazily sharing her three person couch; it was obvious that Sai and Kakashi had wanted her to sit next to them, but Sakura wasn't comfortable enough to do that yet.

Walking into the living room, Sakura noticed that her previous assumptions on their locations had been correct, though, Sakura hadn't anticipated the large smirk that was on Shikamaru's face. Sighing quietly, Sakura walked over to Shikamaru first and handed him a tea cup. The smirk on his face had only increased once she gave him the cup first; shaking her head lightly, she gave the next two cups to Kakashi and Sai, and then to Naruto and Sasuke.

For Sakura, it wasn't an easy choice deciding where to sit. It was obvious most of the males wanted her to sit next to them, but Sakura wasn't so sure where she wanted to sit. Deciding to rather be safe than sorry, Sakura sat on the arm rest of Shikamaru's chair. Her teammates were already mad at Shikamaru; this might have made their anger increase, but Sakura didn't care at the moment. It might even be more amusing to see what they were like when they were even more riled up than they were now.

Sitting down, Sakura sighed slightly when she looked to the males in front of her. What did they want again? Luckily, before she voiced her question, Shikamaru decided to let his voice be known. "So," Shikamaru drawled out lazily. "What are you guys doing here, again?"

"You invited us here," Sasuke sent a glare toward the Nara genius; it seemed the tea hadn't helped calm the Uchiha at all.

"Aa," Shikamaru stated while taking a sip of his tea. Sakura could practically hear the smirk in the brunette's voice; she didn't even have to look at his face to confirm her suspicions. "But that was only after you four interrupted Sakura and my training session."

"But, but, but-," It seemed like Naruto was trying to find something to say in their defense; Sakura was slightly curious as to what he would come up with. The last time they showed interest in her had been… well never actually. Shaking her head slightly, she decided to stop Naruto's struggling; he never could find the right words to explain something.

"I just want to know what you four were doing in the training field," Sakura said as she looked to the four males before her. Sakura watched as the four males exchanged a glance, and it was Kakashi who answered her question.

"Training…?" Kakashi's tone made his statement sound more like a question; either way, Sakura knew what he said had been false. Sighing slightly, Sakura looked completely unimpressed; he could have at least made up a better lie.

"Really now?" Sakura questioned as she gave each male a once over. She could tell Naruto and Sasuke looked a lot better than when she had last seen them, but she knew they were more than likely still hurting; drugs could only do so much. She was irritated at the fact that the two males she had just healed were waltzing around like nothing had happened, and like the two had not just been knocking at death's door. Sakura knew Tsunade should have left the two in the hospital for at least a couple more days; she would have a talk with the Hokage later. "There would be no way the Hokage, or myself would okay you two dumb asses to start training yet."

"… We just wanted to go for a wonderful walk in the woods?" This time it was Naruto who tried to answer her question, but the tone in his voice had made it sound like another question. Kami, Sakura rolled her eyes at the four males; were they really too stubborn to tell her the truth? Sakura really wouldn't put it past them, but she had another idea to find out the truth either way.

"Seriously," Sakura muttered with a slight glare towards the four. "It really can't be that hard to tell the truth, even when you've been in Kakashi's company for probably too long."

Sakura had tried to joke there; the atmosphere had been too uncomfortable for her. Too bad the joke didn't go as planned. The group of four looked at her with large round eyes, and Kakashi looked slightly offended. Sakura looked to her silver haired sensei, and couldn't help the giggle that escaped her at the look on his face.

The rest of the apartment was quiet as Sakura continued to laugh. Really, it had been too long since she had last seen these four; she really wished she could have gone with them. That thought seemed to calm down her laughter, and sobered up her mood instantly. Of course she had wanted to come with them, they just hadn't let her. And even though leaving her behind had meant she had become stronger, she was still not going to forgive them so easily.

Looking to Sai, Sakura decided she would get the most honest answer out of him. "Sai, what were you guys doing at the training grounds?" Sakura questioned with a slight frown.

The three males looked alarmingly at the ex-root member, and Sakura had to fight off the grin that came to her face at their fear. "Dickless, Traitor, and Kakashi came to me a few hours ago. They had stated that you had become a jounin level ninja, and that they wanted to see your level of growth in person. That is why we were watching you at the training field, Ugly."

He had to know how much that nickname pissed her off; he had to remember didn't he? Or had he been gone for too long to remember? Frowning, Sakura tried to think of how many times she had tried to beat the crap out of him for calling her that. Smirking slightly, Sakura thought it was about time to give Sai the punch he was long over due for.

The males watched as Sakura looked down at the floor; they couldn't see her eyes because her pink bangs were blocking them from view. In an instant, Sakura stood from her seat beside Shikamaru; the Nara genius was smirking at the look of fear on the males before him. Shaking slightly with unknown anger (or so the males thought), the males watched as Sakura walked towards Sai. Sai, seemingly indifferent, just tilted his head to the side as she walked toward him.

Naruto looked like he was about to say something, but was halted in his effort by Sakura's fist glowing an intense blue. Raising an eyebrow, Naruto watched as Sakura slammed a fist into Sai's gut. The raven haired male cringed in pain, and everyone looked to Sakura who had seemed to calm down after the small fit of anger.

"How many times have I told you to stop calling me that Sai?" Sakura commented as she turned and started to walk back to her seat beside Shikamaru with a smirk. It had been hard to hide her laughter as she walked back to her spot, but seeing that Shikamaru was shaking slightly in what was also hidden laughter had made it even harder for her to hide her own. It was obvious the four hadn't heard about Sakura's inhuman strength; it was nearly as infamous as the Hokage's.

Sighing, Sakura calmed herself as she looked back to the three males that were staring at her in shock; Sai was still holding his stomach from her punch, and that caused her to smile. If her teammates wanted to see how powerful she had become, she was ready to show them.

"I don't understand why you guys just didn't tell me what you were doing before," Sakura commented as she took a long sip of her tea. "You guys should have just asked me for a spar."

"We don't want to hurt you Sakura-Chan!" Naruto yelled before he could stop himself. Sakura's eyes narrowed as she looked to the blonde; it seemed her session with Shikamaru had not shown her true power to her team then. Sighing in what seemed to be disappointment, Sakura looked to her team.

"Really?" Sakura questioned with a frown. Her teammates looked to her roommate at her sudden change in moods. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at the males, but then shook his head; if they couldn't understand Sakura, then he wasn't going to explain it to them.

Looking to the four, Sakura's eyes moved from one teammate to another. "Do I have to show all four of you just how strong I have become?" She questioned again; Sakura was starting to get annoyed with all the doubt from her teammates. They had not seen what she could really do for a year; Sakura was almost tempted to give each of them a punch similar to the one she had just given Sai.

"Alright then," Sakura said to the silence; it was obvious they were still afraid they were going to hurt her. "I guess we'll have to start somewhere. Naruto, I challenge you to a sparring session."

The blonde gapped at the pink haired female; what was she doing? Was she really so confident in herself that she could beat him? Naruto wasn't so sure. "Um… Sakura-Chan?"

"Are you too scared to accept my challenge, Naruto?" Sakura asked with a slight smirk; when Sasuke and Naruto used to challenge each other, this always used to give Naruto the push he needed.

"It's not that!" Naruto yelled back to the pink haired woman.

Sakura raised an eyebrow before she nodded. "I understand," Sakura said with a nod of the head. "You just got out of the hospital, and need more time to rest. I shouldn't have suggested a spar just after you were so close to death; let's wait for a week then."

"Sakura-Chan, that's not what I meant either!" Naruto grumbled as his cheeks reddened. Sakura's smirk increased slightly at the embarrassed look on his face. "Fine! Let's spar right now!"

"Oh no, Naruto," Sakura said with a shake of her head as she stood. Picking up her and Shikamaru's empty tea cups, Sakura started to walk back toward the kitchen. "I wouldn't want to hurt you in your current condition. I want to wait to beat you when you have your full strength. Maybe then you can finally understand how strong I am."

Ignoring the blonde's cries to come back, Sakura walked to the kitchen. Setting the tea cups in the sink, Sakura fought off a smirk when she felt a presence follow her.

"It's not nice to tease him, Sakura," Shikamaru stated with a slight grin as he brought Kakashi and Sai's empty tea cups toward the sink. Sakura raised an eyebrow in question at his statement, but couldn't help it as her smirk came out full force.

"Well you know how they are Shikamaru," Sakura said while moving slightly to give Shikamaru room to put the cups down. "This will make him even more determined. It's like they see me as the same girl they left behind a year ago; I'm not that little weak girl anymore."

"I know that," Shikamaru sighed as he set the cups in the sink. Turning so he was looking the pink haired woman in the eye, Shikamaru lightly smirked. "But they don't. They still see you as that girl, Sakura. You need to make them see who you are now."

"Hence the sparring sessions," Sakura commented while walking back towards the living room. Sakura ignored the slight raise of Shikamaru's eyebrow as the two started to walk back to the other room.

"Sessions?" Shikamaru questioned quietly as the two started to walk into hearing distance of the other four.

"Yes," Sakura said with a smug smile. "I plan to challenge the rest of my teammates in the same manner."

"How does that not surprise me?" Shikamaru muttered while stepping back into the living room. It seemed, that the four had been talking while she and Shikamaru had been in the kitchen. Knowing those four, it probably had something to do with her sparring request; Sakura wouldn't be surprised if the other three had threatened pain on Naruto if he didn't go easy on Sakura. Sakura would make him pay dearly for not taking her seriously when the two actually started to fight.

"If it'll make you feel better, Sakura-Chan," Naruto seemed to say in defeat; it seemed the others had gotten to him. No surprise there. "I will spar with you next week."

Sakura allowed a triumphant grin to show on her features and looked to the four males. "Sounds good to me. So now, why don't you four tell me what you been up to for the last year? I haven't really heard much of anything."

The four males seemed to be surprised at her sudden shift in moods, again. But it seemed that when Sakura got something she wanted, then her mood shift would be happy; go figure. "Well um," Naruto started as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I guess it's been pretty eventful."

"We were successful in eliminating my brother," Sasuke spoke from beside Naruto. Sakura almost smiled at the Uchiha; had he changed as well? He seemed more open with his emotions, which Sakura considered to be a good thing. She hoped this was done by Naruto's influence.

"That is what Shikamaru said when I talked to him earlier," Sakura said with a small smile as she looked to the remaining Uchiha. Maybe finally completing his goal after so long was what had Sasuke in a lighter mood. "We should go out and celebrate sometime."

"Aa," Sasuke commented with a nod of his head. It seemed he was still good at using one word sentences; Sakura was just happy he had forgone his usual 'hn' when responding back to her.

"Well, what else has happened?" Sakura asked as she looked to Kakashi and Sai. It was surprising to her that Sasuke had talked before Kakashi; was there something wrong with her sensei?

"Nothing much Sakura," Kakashi commented with a slight wave of the hand. "It took us nearly a year to finally track down Sasuke, and that was only because we had gotten word of Itachi's whereabouts."

"So you three just continuously searched after Sasuke for a year?" Her team never ceased to amaze her. She wondered if anyone else would chase after a teammate for a whole year, if not more. No, they probably wouldn't. Team seven was a special breed, and Sakura had known this from day one.

"More or less," Kakashi answered almost lazily. Sakura could see that there was something the males of team seven were not telling her, but she wouldn't worry about it now; at least things were starting to get a little less awkward. That, and she could probably get the truth from Sai later; Kami she loved his blunt honesty sometimes.

"Um, okay," Sakura said as she brought a finger to her chin and looked thoughtful. "Any questions for me?"

"When did you become a jounin!" Naruto blurted out before he could restrain himself. Sakura sighed slightly, but decided the males had a right to know.

"Hmm," Sakura said as she thought back to the exams. "It was about five months ago, right Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru seemed to be slightly surprised that he had been brought into the conversation so suddenly, but he knew why. Sakura was trying to be civil and talk to her teammates, but it was becoming increasingly awkward for her to talk to them. He knew for a fact that Sakura knew the exact date she had become a jounin.

"Six, actually," Shikamaru commented as he looked to the males before him with a small smirk. "That was when you, Neji, Shino, and I passed the exams."

"Wait!" Naruto almost screeched in rage. "That jerk Neji is a jounin now too?"

"Of course, Naruto," Sakura said as a smile came to her face; it was nice that Naruto was still Naruto. She would have been concerned if he wasn't. "He and Shino were on my team when all three of us became chuunin. Tsunade-sama had said something about putting her best three genin together in hopes of blowing away the competition; we ended up doing so."

"Ugh," Naruto grunted with a glare towards the floor. "I can't believe that Teme is a jounin before I could even be a chuunin!"

"He told me he has aspirations for becoming the next Hokage as well," Shikamaru commented as he watched Naruto for a reaction. It was really so much fun playing with Sakura's teammates. For them pretending to be as emotionless as they were, the four were all big phonies. "He said something about a certain blonde inspiring him to change the world."

"He can't take my dream!" Naruto yelled as he stood from Sakura's loveseat. Sakura shook her head slightly as she watched Naruto race out her door. Maybe he was too much like the Naruto of the past. "I'm going to kick his ass!"

Sakura watched as Kakashi and Sasuke stood to follow after the blonde. It was obvious Neji had gotten stronger if he had become a jounin; they were sure Naruto was in no condition to fight a jounin such as Neji.

"Thanks for the tea Sakura," Kakashi said as he looked back to the pinkette. "We'll grab lunch tomorrow."

Without even hearing a response from Sakura, Kakashi and Sasuke headed out her apartment door. Sakura frowned but looked to her last teammate that said comfortably on the couch; it seemed he didn't want to go after the blonde.

"They will understand your strength," Sai said as he stood from his spot. Looking to Sakura, he bowed his head slightly before he turned towards the door. "You are stronger, Sakura."

Sakura took in a surprised breath; had he really used her name? Smiling, Sakura thought maybe the punch to his gut had been needed. Maybe that was all the rest of her team needed as well; either way she would be delivering said punches soon enough.


	4. Chapter 4: Team Seven Lunch Part 1

Sorry about the long time between updates : ) I've been getting distracted again with other story ideas. I hope you all enjoy this one!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Simply Sakura

Chapter Four: Team Seven Lunch Part 1

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><p>Sakura frowned while she dragged Shikamaru through the grocery store; sometimes she felt like a mother to the genius. Shikamaru would constantly come to the cart carrying something different that he wanted; Sakura had no quarrels about telling him no, though. It didn't help that Shikamaru was incredibly sneaky; however, no matter how hard she tried something she didn't want ended up in the cart courtesy of Shikamaru.<p>

Sighing, Sakura's eyes drifted around the store until she saw a man she knew very well; she had to fight off the smile that threatened to show on her face as she saw him. It wasn't that she couldn't smile, it was the fact that she felt like she was betraying someone if she did. There before her and Shikamaru stood a very much alive and uninjured Neji Hyuga. "So much for Naruto killing him," Sakura muttered to herself, but her companion had heard her.

Before she could even try to stop Shikamaru from saying anything, she heard the male snort from beside her. Really, the two of them had known Neji would not deal with her idiot of a blonde teammate; the threat Naruto had made on the Hyuga's life yesterday was not one she took very seriously.

"Looks like Naruto didn't get the revenge he had been seeking." Shikamaru commented while looking toward the Hyuga male. Sakura noticed that she and Shikamaru had caught the brunette's attention; he seemed to be walking over toward the two of them. "Do you think that's because he never found him or was Neji able to beat him this time around?"

Sakura really could not stop her smile from showing as Neji walked up to the two of them and glared at her roommate. Over the last couple years, Sakura and the Hyuga branch member had gotten closer. "Hey Neji," Sakura waved casually as she passed over the cart pushing responsibilities to Shikamaru; maybe that would keep him occupied and out of trouble for a little while.

"Sakura," Neji acknowledged her in a friendly tone, but when he looked back to Shikamaru the white eyed Hyuga was glaring daggers. "What would possess you to tell Naruto that I wanted to become the Hokage, Shika?"

"So he was able to find you then," Shikamaru said with a slight aloof expression. The expression was soon interrupted when the ponytail wearing man smirked. "I just wanted to see if I could give you a little workout Hyuga."

Neji snorted softly before giving Shikamaru an incredulous look. "Naruto a challenge?" Neji asked with a raise of his eyebrows. "Is that supposed to be a joke Shikamaru?"

"Hey guys," Sakura gave the two males a pointed glare. "Let's not make fun of my teammate's short comings okay? Besides, I asked Naruto to spar with me sometime next week. Was he really that bad Neji?"

Neji sighed but shook his head. "Naruto's emotions were getting the best of him," Neji said while his white eyes drifted towards our cart, and all the food that was inside. Hmm, maybe she could invite Neji over for lunch this afternoon, too? He seemed interested, as he was always interested in her cooking; she really didn't have to tell him that her team was coming over either. "It's not that he's weak, per say, Naruto has never been. But if you are going to go up against him you will win hands down."

"That's a comforting thought," Sakura mused while her eyes seemed to glimmer a little more brightly. Looking into the cart Shikamaru was pushing; Sakura shook her head before taking out a box of pocky. "We really don't need this junk Shika. Nice try though."

"Just let me get something unhealthy," Shikamaru's voice drawled out in a bored manner. It was obvious the Nara was getting tired of shopping, but she really couldn't blame him. It's not like he ever cooked for himself anyways; he never had to. Sakura always made sure the apartment was stocked with his favorite foods anyhow.

"Fine," Sakura said with a roll of her eyes; she really did feel like a mom sometimes. "Maybe you and Neji could go spar or something; I'll make lunch and you guys can come and eat when you're finished."

"That sounds wonderful," Neji agreed with a nod of his head. Looking over to Shikamaru, it seemed like he would have done anything to leave the grocery shopping to her; the male whole heartedly agreed.

"Sure," Shikamaru said as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. Looking over to Sakura, he smiled before walking out of the store. "Don't forget my dumplings."

"Yeah, yeah," Sakura commented back. Sometimes it was too easy to please males, Sakura mused while she watched her two close friends leave. If food was all she needed to make the opposite gender happy, she wondered how more women didn't have men wrapped around their fingers.

As Sakura walked down the next aisle, she tried to remember everything that had happened yesterday. It was hard to, because yesterday was kind of a whirl wind of things, but the few things Sakura did remember were important. She remembered Kakashi had said something about having lunch today together; she also assumed that meant she would have to cook for them.

She really didn't mind because she knew her cooking was good, it just irritated her that she wouldn't have a choice in the matter. Once again, this was Kakashi making the decision without paying any heed to what Sakura, or any of her other teammates wanted; it was starting to irk her, and she had only really been around him for a day. This really wasn't a good way to restart things with team seven…

Grumbling to herself as she pushed her cart, Sakura was so distracted that she didn't see said silver haired man in front of her. "Good morning, Sakura," Kakashi said with a quirk of his lips and a nod of his head. Sakura shook her head and frowned; did they have to appear just as she was thinking about them?

Sighing, she nodded back to the man. "Hey Kakashi," she said with a small smile. It was awkward, really. She had just been cursing this man, and then he appears before her… Sakura swore she was cursed or something.

"So what are you doing?" Kakashi asked as Sakura tried to maneuver her cart around the jounin. She figured it would just be a casual "hey" and then get on with the rest of their day, but it seemed for once in his life, Kakashi actually wanted to talk to her. Of course, this made the task of moving around him surprisingly difficult even when dealing with the semi-lazy nin.

Sakura was surprised as she watched Kakashi put away his red Icha Icha book, and turned to give her his full attention… this was new.

"Getting ready to make lunch," Sakura said with a slight sigh. Was it really too much to ask to get away from the male population for more than five minutes. "I thought the four of you would want something home cooked as opposed to takeout."

"Hmm," Kakashi replied as his eye seemed to check out the cart of food she was pushing. She really hadn't gotten all that much, but it was enough to make the boys (all of the boys) lunch. She hoped she would have some food leftover for later meals, but Sakura wasn't so sure. If Naruto ate every meal like he used to eat ramen, then she was surely in trouble.

Sakura's thoughts seemed to distract her, but Kakashi easily brought her out of her musings. She watched carefully as his hand went into the cart, and he pulled out the small box of pocky Shikamaru had thrown in not five minutes earlier.

"Everything else looks fairly healthy," Kakashi said with an eye crinkle. "By the looks of things, these don't belong to you."

"And how did you guess that?" Sakura questioned, and she suddenly felt offended; why couldn't she eat pocky? What was wrong with that?

"It's nothing Sakura," Kakashi said while waving his hands and putting the pocky back in the cart. "Your figure… it's just obvious that you don't eat a lot of sweets. Not a lot of curves you know, not that that's a bad thing! I think you've actually lost weight since I saw you last. I can tell you take care of yourself, I guess that's just what I'm trying to say..."

Raising an eyebrow, Sakura wasn't sure if she should take that as a compliment or not. Of course he was calling her skinny, which is what all women wanted, right? But did that mean he thought she was heavy before she left? And why was he babbling?

Seeing the look on Sakura's face, Kakashi was quickly to react. "Actually… I think you should gain some weight. Yes, you're so skinny that you need to put on a few pounds."

Sakura's eyes widened even more at that, and she decided then and there that Kakashi would no longer be spending any more time alone with Sai; it was obvious Sai's obliviousness to everything that was emotions had rubbed off on Kakashi. She refused to let him get away with this one though…

"Lunch will be in two hours," Sakura said while she quickly walked passed Kakashi. "Of course that's only if you want food that will make you skinny I suppose."

After she turned to the next aisle, Sakura had the sudden urge to go buy more pocky. Maybe she did need to gain a few more pounds…

XxxX

Chuckling slightly Shikamaru entered his apartment with Neji in tow. The two had had a decent training session, and now both were quite hungry. As they entered into the apartment, both ninja's mouths instantly started watering: Sakura had obviously been cooking for the last hour and a half, and the whole apartment smelled heavenly.

Following their noses', they entered the kitchen where they found quite the peculiar sight. Sakura was mulling over the stove; from what Shikamaru could see and smell, Sakura had made anko dumplings, dango, tomato soup, ramen, and something else that smelled wonderful. The fact that she was cooking was not the thing that weired Shikamaru and Neji out, no, it was the fact that there were ten empty boxes of pocky scattered across the kitchen floor and in Sakura's mouth was another chocolate covered stick.

"Um… Sakura?" Neji questioned first. He knew Sakura was a health nut; Sakura usually stuck to a diet full of nutritious foods. "Are you alright?"

"Am I too skinny?" Sakura asked as she turned towards the two males. Lifting her shirt up, Sakura flashed the two males her rock hard stomach. It was something she had been thinking about since she had left Kakashi. She always tried to be healthy, but maybe she was trying to be too healthy?

"What is wrong with you?" Neji asked again; seriously, this was not like Sakura at all.

"Don't tell me you ate all my pocky," Shikamaru accused with a slight glare. Sakura could only shake her head before nodding to the pantry door.

"There's more in there," she said with a wistful sigh. "I saw Kakashi in the market after you two left; he said I lost weight, and now I look too skinny."

From where Shikamaru stood at the pantry he snorted. Sakura sent him a glare before chucking the rest of her pocky at him; he was so childish sometimes.

"Sakura," Neji said with a shake of his head. "You're muscular, and just right for a kunochi. If you were any skinnier you wouldn't be as strong as you are right now. And if you were any heavier you wouldn't be as fast as you are."

Hearing that, Sakura allowed a soft sigh escape her lips. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she said with a nod before turning back to the stove. "I guess I've been a little more insecure ever since they got home.

"I'm not worried about my strength when I'm around them though," Sakura said with a small smile. "I guess I really just want a chance to prove myself. And I really want to prove them wrong, too."

"You'll get that chance," Shikamaru said while he munched happily on the pocky stick Sakura had thrown at him. He now stood beside Sakura at the stove; it was obvious to Sakura that he was trying to get in good with her, so she would give him a bite of her anko dumplings early. Like hell she would. "Kami knows you'll pound their heads in sooner or later."

Neji snorted in agreement before a loud knock was heard at the apartment door. Raising her eyes, Sakura looked to the clock before cursing. "I didn't think they'd come this early. Shika, go get the door, please."

"They?" Neji asked Sakura curiously as he watched Shikamaru leave the room. Sakura turned towards the Hyuga male and gave him a large smile.

"My team," she said as she watched Neji for a reaction; she got one, and smirked. "Come on Neji! You and Shikamaru are my best friends! You should be civil towards my team, and they to you."

"Mou," Neji slightly pouted as he crossed his arms. Sakura couldn't prevent the smile from seeing Neji act so childish. When she and Shikamaru had gotten to know Neji better, the Hyuga had been showing more and more of his personality; it really was quite entertaining. And sometimes, she felt like she was not only the mom of Shikamaru, but Neji as well.

"Thanks Neji," Sakura said while turning back to the stove. "The food is almost ready. Can you set the table, and make sure no one kills each other?"

"Sure," Neji said once he realized his pouting wasn't going to work. It seldom did, but Sakura assumed that was only because he had not fully mastered the puppy dog pout… Sakura hoped Shikamaru wouldn't teach that to him anytime soon.

Turning off the stove just as the food had finished, Sakura waited a few seconds before grabbing some of the food. The living room was quiet, again. Sakura was surprised that Naruto hadn't started a fight with Neji yet. Grabbing the tomato soup and the ramen first, Sakura walked carefully towards the door. Just as she got there, the door opened, and Sakura realized why Naruto and Neji hadn't gotten into a fight yet: Naruto wasn't there yet.

Sasuke held open the door with a nod of his head as Sakura walked through with a surprised smile. Who knew he would be the first one to arrive at lunch? Walking over to the table, Sakura was surprised again when she saw Kakashi standing on the other side of the table, and why the hell was he holding flowers?

"We thought we should bring something," Kakashi said with a shrug as he passed Sakura the bouquet of beautiful white orchids. The bouquet was done so beautifully that Sakura had a hard time believing Kakashi had gotten the flowers himself. "Sasuke and Sai actually went to the flower shop earlier to get them."

Ah, so that explained it. Sai must have picked them out, and Sasuke must have paid for them. Sakura was still surprised that Sai and Sasuke had gotten along long enough to buy her flowers; she could tell the two didn't like each other much.

"Thank you," Sakura said with a smile. "They're beautiful. Are Sai and Naruto here yet? Lunch is just about ready."

"Sai is just checking Naruto out of the hospital, and they both should be here," Kakashi said with an eye crinkle as he sat down in one of the chairs. Hearing his answer, Sakura froze before looking back towards Kakashi.

"What?" Sakura asked hoping she hadn't heard Kakashi correctly.

"The Dobe went after Hyuga yesterday, and before we could stop the dobe from trying to attack, Hyuga had 64 palmed him," Sasuke said from behind her. "It's really the dobe's fault though… not that I'm on the Hyuga's side or anything."

"Thanks Uchiha," Neji said with a glare as Sakura's emerald eyes turned towards Neji. The Hyuga seemed to pale at the look on Sakura's face.

"Do you know how long it took to heal all of Naruto's wounds, Neji?" Sakura asked calmly as she slowly made her way over to the Hyuga. This was her intimitadtion technique; she knew that working with Ibiki would help her in the long run.

"N-no," Neji answered as he tried to stand his ground. He knew Sakura was angry, but she couldn't be mad that he had been defending himself, could she?

"Neji," Sakura said as she took in a calm breath. "Explain."

"He really wouldn't stop Sakura," Shikamaru drawled as he stuffed another pocky stick into his mouth. "Neji told me about it during our training earlier."

Glaring to her roommate, Sakura dropped her scary act; it usually didn't work on Neji anyhow. "Alright, but I don't want to have to heal him again until after I fight him, okay?"

"Yes Sakura," Neji's voice chimed as he nodded slightly. Smiling, Sakura turned and started to walk back towards the kitchen. Just as she was about to go through, however, Sakura watched as Sasuke came out with the anko dumplings, and the platter of makizushi she had been making earlier. Sakura had to stop herself from smirking; of course he wouldn't want to grab the dango. Sakura remembered Sasuke's dislike for all things sweet. The dango had been more for Kakashi than anyone else; she knew the male adored dango.

Slipping past Sasuke, Sakura walked into the kitchen and grabbed the remaining plate of food. As she walked back out into the dining room, however, a knock was heard at the door.

"Shikamaru!"

"Yeah, yeah, woman," Shikamaru grunted while putting his hands in his pockets. He was already standing beside the door and Sakura had to fight off the proud feeling that welled up in her chest; she had trained him so well. "I got it."

Opening the door, Sakura wasn't surprised at all to see Sai and Naruto. It seemed Tsunade had done a nice job healing Naruto, because there were no signs of Neji's usually lethal technique.

"Sakura-Chan!" Naruto grinned before racing into the room. He flew past everyone else, and enveloped Sakura into a giant hug. As Naruto's arms wrapped around her, Sakura instantly froze at the unusual contact.

When had been the last time she had gotten a Naruto hug? Sighing slightly, Sakura allowed herself to relax before placing her arms around him.

"Hi Naruto," Sakura said with a slight smile. Feeling him let go, Sakura watched as the blonde blushed deeply before rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sorry Sakura-Chan," he said sheepishly. "I couldn't stop myself when I saw you there! Haha, wait! What's that Neji-Bastard doing here?"

Sakura could practically feel a headache coming on as she watched Naruto leap at Neji… maybe this lunch thing hadn't been such a good idea.

Not that it was her idea in the first place… she blamed Kakashi.


	5. Chapter 5: Team Seven Lunch Part 2

Simply Sakura 5

Team Seven Lunch Part 2

I am at a wonder at how many people are really appreciating this story, thanks for everyone's reviews! Sorry it has been taking me so long to update; I've been seriously overwhelmed with college. I'm hoping the upcoming winter break with clear my head enough to try and write more again.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

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><p>Sakura watched with building dread as Naruto leaped towards Neji; really, she couldn't ask for a simple, non-violent lunch with her boys, could she? Sighing Sakura knew what she had to do. Before any of the males around her could react, Sakura moved.<p>

In an instant she stood between Neji and Naruto; her hand was currently holding back the punch Naruto had directed at the Hyuga. Of course she knew Neji probably wouldn't have been hit by the punch, but that didn't matter; it was the principal that she didn't want anyone to fight in her house that caused her to stop the punch. Both Neji and Shikamaru were non-fazed by Sakura's quick movements. Team Seven, however, seemed a little more surprised. Without letting her team think on it too much, Sakura spoke.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Sakura questioned with a harsh glare as she squeezed the fist in her hand a little tighter. The blonde flinched and just continued looking back at Sakura in awe. "I made this wonderful lunch for you guys, and here you are trying to attack one of my guests. Naruto, if you don't change this behavior I'll never invite you back for another lunch here again."

Naruto's eyes widened until they were the size of the ramen bowls he loved so much. If Sakura hadn't been so angry with him she would have found it slightly comical; hearing Shikamaru's snort, Sakura knew her roommate at least did. Either way, both Neji and Shikamaru were trying hard to fight off a smirk as Sakura disciplined Naruto; the two had both been on the receiving end of her lectures before.

"Now," Sakura said with a slight sigh, and a growing smile. She refused to stay mad at him for too long; really, it was Shikamaru's fault this all was happening in the first place. "Let's get down to lunch. I tried to make everyone's favorite, if I remembered them well enough."

"Hn," Sasuke said as his eyes surveyed the different dishes that lay out before them. He seemed to nod approvingly towards the tomato soup, like Sakura thought he would. Smiling slightly at that thought, Sakura sighed before dropping Naruto's fist.

"Let's sit down and have lunch," Sakura said while she started to walk towards one of the chairs. "We'll talk more about this afterwards."

Without even listening for a response, Sakura sat down and took in a deep breath. She was already getting tired of team seven and all the chaos that came with them. She really did love them, but sometimes the group of four made it so damned hard.

Looking to the group in front of her, she noticed idly that they had grown increasingly quiet, not that she'd really blame them. Sakura knew she could be scary when mad. Glancing over to Naruto, she almost flinched at the blonde's look of complete and utter fear. She'd have to do something to make him feel better.

"So," Sakura said while passing one of the plates of food to Shikamaru who sat beside her. "Have you learned any cool new jutsu lately Naruto?"

"Well yeah Sakura-Chan!" Naruto said as he instantly smiled at her; Sakura couldn't help the smile that rose on her face either. Naruto could be so bipolar sometimes; she really had missed that about him. "Well, I guess kind of. It's just like a different rasegan! A bigger one!"

"That must be nice," Sakura said as she grabbed the plate of anko dumplings, only just realizing then that the plate was almost empty. She turned a questioning look to Kakashi, who sat with a plate full of the aforementioned food. Shaking her head slightly, Sakura passed the rest of the dumplings to Shikamaru; he would have killed her if she didn't leave him any.

"Have you learned any cool new jutsu Sakura-Chan?" Naruto asked loudly as he shoved another spoonful of ramen into his mouth. Clicking her tongue lightly, Sakura smiled. Looking around the table she noticed that all four of her teammates were listening intently.

"But of course, Naruto," Sakura said with an impish style grin; maybe she was the reason her roommate loved teasing people so much.

"Well what is it!" Naruto asked while he practically stood up from his seat in excitement. It was funny to Sakura to see how these men before her hadn't changed. Well, at least Naruto hadn't changed at all.

"Well Naruto… I can't tell you," Sakura said with a sly grin on her face. A snort was heard from next to her curtsy of Shikamaru, and Sakura's grin widened. "You see if we're going to spar together next week then I can't tell you my secrets Naruto."

"Aww," Naruto pouted as he went to grab some more ramen. It appeared making as much ramen as she had, was a good thing, Sakura noted. No one else was touching the noodle soup other than the blonde, but that didn't mean it wasn't going to be all gone by the end of lunch either. "You're such a tease Sakura-Chan."

"I know," Sakura said with a smirk as she stuck out her tongue. Taking a bite of the tomato soup, Sakura sighed in relief. At least now they were all acting like civilized adults; the group in the room were all over the age of adulthood, at least in the shinobi world they were. Grinning, Sakura continued to ignore Naruto who gave her a cute pout. Instead, Sakura turned her attention towards Neji, who was eating his dango happily. "How are Tenten and Lee doing? Has Lee gotten over his illness yet?"

"Yes," Neji said with a bit of relief to his voice. "Tenten and I have been waiting for him to get better so we can finally go on missions again. I mean really, who wears a jumpsuit like that to the Land of Snow?"

"Gai," Kakashi said with a small smirk as he shook his head at the questioning look he got from everyone at the table. "It doesn't surprise me in the least that Lee would do it too; idiots."

"Youthful idiots," Neji corrected with a slight smirk of his own.

"How do you judge whether they are youthful or not?" Sai, who had been surprisingly quiet up until then, questioned. The fact that Sai had only been on a few missions with the green beasts of Konoha was probably why he hadn't known the answer to his own ridiculous question.

"They wear green jumpsuits," Sakura said with a slight shudder as she thought to the offending pieces of clothing.

"And they have fuzzy eyebrows," Naruto said along with another slurp of his noodles. "But I don't think their suits are that bad… I just wish they had one in orange."

Sakura watched in amusement as Sasuke snorted before giving Naruto a look of surprise. "Is that what you want for you birthday, dobe?" Sasuke questioned in a slight sarcastic tone. "Because I promise you, if you wear that on missions, you're going to be kicked out of team seven."

"I agree with Sasuke on this one, Naruto," Kakashi said with a nod of his head. Looking to Shikamaru, he also nodded his head.

"Are they really that bad?" Sai asked with a bit of astonishment. Sakura looked to her boys in front of her and laughed.

"I really have missed you guys," Sakura said with a smile. "Idiots."

"At least we're not youthful idiots?" Sai said with a slight turn of his head. His response only caused Sakura to chuckle more.

XxxX

Sakura watched in fascination as Kakashi and Sasuke did her dishes at the sink. Neji and Sai had to leave right after lunch saying the Hokage needed to see them. Sakura just smiled and gave them each a hug before they left.

Now, Sakura sat atop one of the counters in her kitchen. Naruto and Shikamaru were goofing around in the living room; if she wasn't so content in her spot right then, she probably would have worried about them plotting something.

Turning to the two at the sink, she realized she really hadn't talked to them since they had gotten back. "Where did you end up finding Sasuke?" Sakura asked out of the blue.

She watched as Sasuke's shoulders tensed slightly before Kakashi answered. "He was actually in Grass country again," Kakashi said as he continued to dry the plates Sasuke passed him. "Stupid bastard."

"I resent that," Sasuke muttered lightly under his breath. The Sasuke before her made her smile more than the Sasuke she remembered from her genin years. Had finally getting revenge on his brother done this to him? Sakura sincerely hoped so.

"And you were in the process of-"

"Killing my brother," Sasuke said as he turned towards her; the movement caught Sakura a little off guard. Again she remembered the Sasuke from years ago who would avoid confrontation, and ignore people; looking someone in the eye when they were talking to you would have definitely been a no-go for Sasuke.

Jumping off of the counter, Sakura walked over to Sasuke and pulled him into an embrace. She felt the male under her tense, but Sakura didn't care. "I'm glad you came back, Sasuke," Sakura said with a smile. "I'm proud that you came back."

Letting Sasuke go, she gave Sasuke a smile before turning around, and walking out of the kitchen. She really didn't want to make things weird between them, because she definitely wasn't like the fan girl she once was. Sasuke needed to know that she was proud of him; proud that he had come back to the village, even if Naruto really hadn't given him a choice in the matter.

Walking into the living room, Sakura noticed Shikamaru and Naruto talking about something quietly on the couch. Seeing Naruto talking quietly was never a good sign, especially when her roommate was involved. When the two were younger they used to get in a lot of trouble together at the academy.

Coughing slightly into her fist to make her presence known, Sakura watched as Naruto's eyes widened. Yep, Sakura thought, they had definitely been plotting something. "You guys aren't plotting something terrible, are you?"

"Of course not, Sakura-Chan!" Naruto said with a nervous grin.

"I'm offended that you think that lowly of me," Shikamaru said with a grunt. Crossing his arms over his chest, he stubbornly chose to turn away from Sakura's pressing gaze.

"Oh really now?" Sakura questioned as she took a seat across from them. Crossing her legs, Sakura raised an eyebrow. "So why don't I believe a word either of you say."

"Umm," Naruto sat trying to ponder an answer.

"You really don't have to answer that question, Naruto," Sakura said with a slight shake of her head. "Oh, have you guys seen anyone else from the rookie nine yet?"

"Um, I don't think so, Sakura-Chan," Naruto said with a slight shake of his head.

"Oh, well if you guys aren't doing anything tomorrow night, there's a get together with all the rookie nine teams and their sensei's." Sakura said with a smile. "Team Gai comes too. Do you guys think you'll want to come?"

"Of course!" Naruto yelled with a grin. "I'd love to see how everyone else is doing! I'll make Sasuke-teme and Sai- teme come too! Where is it at?"

"Eh, one of the bars downtown," Sakura said with a grin as she looked to Shikamaru. "Shika knows what it's called; he picked the location this month."

"It's called Ichiraku bar and grill," Shikamaru said with a bit of fasciation as he watched the blonde in front of him explode with joy.

"You mean they made a bar and grill?" Naruto yelled as his blue eyes sparkled more with the thought.

"Aa," Shikamaru said with an amused smirk. "They opened it a few months ago."

"And I wasn't informed!" Naruto yelled with a frown.

"What's with all the yelling?" Kakashi muttered while walking into the living room; Sasuke followed a few steps behind him.

"There's an Ichiraku ramen bar!" Naruto yelled gleefully.

"Woo," Kakashi muttered while taking a seat beside Sakura. "Why was this brought up?"

"We're having a get together with all the old rookies and their sensei's there tomorrow night," Sakura said with a grin. "You two should come."

"Mouw," Kakashi said with a slight pout. "I have my reading to catch up on, Sakura-Chan. Did you know Jiriaya has created a new book? I haven't been able to pick up a copy of it yet, but I plan to do nothing but read it for the next four days."

"You just don't want to see Gai-san," Sakura accused with a slight glare. "I know for a fact that you already bought that book yesterday Kakashi Hatake. You wouldn't be you if you hadn't."

"... That doesn't mean I've read the whole book yet…"

"You're going," Sakura said with a stern glare. Sighing, Kakashi nodded his head. Grinning at her success, Sakura added another stipulation. "And you will only be an hour late. I am not kidding."

"But Sakura-Channnnn!"

"You really are worse than Naruto sometimes," Sakura muttered teasingly. Turning towards Sasuke, she gave the raven haired male the same glare she gave Kakashi. "Don't you dare say no."

Waving his hands up in slight surrender, Sasuke nodded before moving to sit on the other side of Sakura. Grinning in satisfaction, Sakura sighed before leaning back against the couch.

"Well that means my work here is done," Sakura said as she closed her eyes, and leaned more into the couch.

"I think I'm going to leave now, Sakura-Chan!" Naruto called as he stood from the couch. Opening an emerald eye, Sakura watched as Shikamaru and Naruto nodded once before the blonde turned to give her a hug. Leaning down, Naruto gripped her shoulders, and hugged her tenderly. Sakura smiled while she wrapped her arms around his waist before pulling away a few seconds later.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Naruto," Sakura said.

Grunting, Sakura watched as Sasuke stood from her couch. Looking to Sakura, he gave her a slight eyebrow raise before smirking nervously. "Thanks for lunch," he said as he waved his hand. Sakura shook her head slightly as she watched him leave; maybe she had made it a little awkward between them when she had hugged him; oh well, Sasuke was pretty awkward anyway.

Waving back to the two, Sakura sighed before she rested her head on the shoulder of the man beside her. "You're leaving too I presume?" Sakura asked while she glanced at the copy-nin's grey eye.

"And what would give you that idea?" Kakashi questioned while he moved slightly on the couch. Sakura smirked as she watched him get comfortable.

"You can stay as long as you don't call her skinny again," Shikamaru warned from the other couch. His chocolate eyes were sending Kakashi a slight glare. "I don't want her to eat all my pocky."

Sakura groaned slightly, and buried her head beneath one of her arms. "Bastard," Sakura cursed.

Raising an eyebrow, Kakashi looked to the pinkette in question. When he realized he wasn't going to get an answer from the woman, he looked to Shikamaru. "What?"

"You called Sakura skinny," Shikamaru said with a snort. "And told her to eat more. She broke down and started eating pocky… my pocky."

It was Kakashi's turn to groan. "You didn't really take that seriously, did you Sakura?" Kakashi asked with a frown. "You know how socially retarded I can be at times."

"Just forget about it!" Sakura called while she tried to snuggle into the couch more. Maybe if she tried hard enough, the couch would eat her, and then the boys would have to leave her alone.

"But Sakura," Kakashi said in a slightly upset tone. "I didn't mean to offend you; really. You're in great physical condition for a kunochi. If it makes you feel better, I'll even take you out to dinner! We'll eat salads and celery sticks; yummy. Come on."

Sakura frowned before untangling her head from the pillows she had tried to burry herself under. Turning towards Kakashi she raised an eyebrow. "Dinner?"

"Yes," Kakashi said with a nod. "My treat."

"Okay," Sakura said with a nod. "But I don't want celery sticks; Kami, I hate celery sticks. Let's just go out for some good sushi."

"Alright," Kakashi said with a grin. "How about tomorrow night?"

"… We're already doing dinner tomorrow night…"

Rubbing his head sheepishly, Kakashi smirked slightly. "Oh right right. Tonight then? The night after tomorrow? I really don't have any plans."

"What about Icha Icha?" Sakura questioned with a knowing grin.

"…. Can I bring it along?"

"No."

"Finee," Kakashi said. Sakura rolled her eyes before giggling slightly. Before Kakashi had left on his mission, he had never given her the time of day. Watching him fuss over her was highly amusing; whatever had happened on the guys mission had been for the better, Sakura assumed.


	6. Chapter 6: Party Time

Chapter 6: Party Time

I know it's been a while; sorry about that! Summer started for me a little less than a month ago, but now I am currently enrolled in a summer class and am working every day. Hopefully you will all forgive me, and appreciate the slight tension that begins with Sakura and Team Seven in this chapter.

Woo hoo for longer chapters : ) please read and review.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

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><p>Kakashi couldn't help feeling a bit nervous as he looked through his wardrobe; what was he going to wear again? After being invited personally by Sakura, Kakashi felt like he couldn't just show up in his usual ninja attire. Sighing quietly, he looked over to his plant for assistance. Mr. Uki sat on top of his bed looking incredibly unhelpful.<p>

Frowning, Kakashi looked to the mirror again; would he be dressing up too much if he wore anything different than he usually did though? Grabbing his usual black long sleeved shirt, he threw it on quickly while checking the time. Of course he didn't want to be too late… Hadn't Sakura threatened him about what would happen if he was late? Ah yes, he thought, but she did also give him an extra hour to dally. Kakashi thought that that hour would be spent on reading his new Icha Icha; it was actually spent on deciding what clothes to wear. Looking back to his beloved plant, Kakashi raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Regular clothes, right?"

"Kakashi… please tell me you're not talking to a plant."

Kakashi's eyes wandered over to the window, and he couldn't help but smile slightly. "I was thinking about summoning Pakkun, but something tells me a dog would have even less fashion sense than I do. And Mr. Uki at least doesn't laugh at my choices…"

"So that means you're using your plant as a consultant?" Sakura smiled slightly while she swung her legs over the open window. Looking to the plant in question, Sakura could only raise an eyebrow. "How did Mr. Uki survive while you were gone anyway?"

Kakashi sighed before looking to the clock in his bedroom; he really didn't want to have to explain to Sakura that he had actually taken his plant with him on a mission… he assumed it would trigger some kind of sad or angered emotions in the pinkette, and would spring up the topic as to why she had been left behind from the mission in the first place. And Sakura was just starting to like them again; Kakashi didn't want to do anything that would jeopardize the small relationship she and team seven had been building since they had returned.

Also, on a side note, Kakashi was sure that Sakura would think he was completely pathetic if she had known he had brought his beloved Mr. Uki with him on a mission.

Grinning slightly at her, he ignored her question as he grabbed his jounin vest and turned back to the pinkette. She, surprisingly, was wearing something different than her regular kunochi attire. As his eyes scanned her body, Kakashi knew he was underdressed: that was the last time he ever listened to his plant.

Sakura was wearing a mint green kimono with white birds scattered across it in a beautiful pattern. Her hair was wrapped up into a beautiful bun, and the sight of her just took Kakashi's breath away.

"… I think I'm going to be underdressed…"

Sakura smiled before jumping down from her spot at the window. Walking over to Kakashi, she smiled brightly. "Don't worry about it," Sakura said while she headed to the door. "None of the guys really dress up for this thing; the girls do on the other hand. It was Pig's idea actually."

As Kakashi watched Sakura walk out of his bedroom, he told himself he was going to have to thank the girl known as "pig" later. The nickname sounded familiar, but Kakashi had no idea as to why. Following her out, Kakashi gave a slight glare at Mr. Uki before he turned off the light, and exited the room. Maybe he would need to get another plant to help him with his fashion choice next time.

Following Sakura into his living room, Kakashi felt a swirl of male pride. This was Sakura after all; she had been his student at one time. Even if it was late, Kakashi was glad that she had been his student, if only for a short bit of time.

Kakashi sighed before he followed Sakura to his front door. He knew it would be stupid to think these thoughts before going out to a bar with her, but he hadn't really been able to stop since team seven had returned.

Sakura was unbelievably beautiful. She had transformed in the short time he had been gone, and she had transformed into a strong beautiful flower. He would be stupid if he couldn't at least admit that to himself.

Kakashi watched her as she exited his apartment; and once again he was surprised at the grace Sakura eluded as she moved. It was subtle, but it was practiced; she looked like a cat with every step her long legs took. "Where is this bar again?" Kakashi found himself asking as he closed the door to his apartment. The silence had been going on for too long, he thought, and also his thoughts had been wandering a little too far down a road he wasn't ready to go yet.

"Downtown," Sakura called from behind as she started to head down the stairway. She was moving awfully fast, and it felt like she was trying to slink away from him. Raising an eyebrow, Kakashi quickened his pace until he was beside her.

"Have you been there yet tonight?" Kakashi asked as he easily slid his hands into his pockets; the position made him a little less nervous. When had he started to feel nervous around Sakura?

"Your bad habits rubbed off on me," Sakura said as she continued their journey through the streets. The sun had already set, and the moonlight was the only light that guided them through the streets.

Kakashi fought a smirk. "You just wanted to make sure I would come, didn't you?"

Sakura's large smirk was an answer in itself. Skipping further in front of him, Sakura quickly entered a comfortable looking building. On the outside, it had sliding paper doors and had a traditional Japanese atmosphere, but Kakashi could also hear the bass of the music even outside of the bar.

There was no doubt in Kakashi's mind that this place would be a definite hang out for the younger ninja generation. He was at least happy there were going to be other senseis there, or else he was sure he would start to feel old.

Slipping in behind Sakura, Kakashi closed the door and wasn't at all surprised to see a dance floor off to one side of the restaurant and a bar and a seating area in another direction. He followed the pinkette as she dodged through the massive crowd of people; it was obvious she knew exactly where she was heading. Looking to the group in front of him, Kakashi also knew where the two were headed.

"Hey guys!" Sakura called to the group as they drew closer, Kakashi stayed behind the pinkette as the group let out their own greetings.

"Forehead, what the hell took you so long?" A blonde yelled as she stood from her spot. At seeing the blonde, Kakashi at once remembered who the aforementioned "Pig" was, and then remembered why that was her nickname. Ino meant boar in Japanese… Kakashi felt his lips curl at Sakura's joke.

"You know," Sakura said with a grin as she slinked into a booth beside Shikamaru and across from Ino. Not knowing really what to do, Kakashi started to follow before his senses started to sting. Out of instinct, Kakashi took a step to the left, and it was not a moment too soon. A green clad blur leaped towards the place Kakashi had previously been standing.

"Gai," Kakashi acknowledged as walked to the booth of ninja he recognized. Kurenai sat in a booth besides Shizune while Genma grinned lecherously across from the two. Kakashi grinned slightly before sitting beside his longtime friend; it actually did feel pretty good to get out… not that he would ever admit that to anyone.

XxxX

Sakura sighed slightly in relief when she found a comfortable position next to Shikamaru. It had been his fault really… he had practically dared her to pick Kakashi up.

While she was getting ready, he had teased her endlessly, saying he bet she couldn't get Kakashi here within the time limits she had allowed him earlier. She grinned and immediately accepted that challenge. Thinking back on it now, Sakura knew Shikamaru had had something up his sleeve. With the over confident grin on his face right now Sakura was sure he had done something.

The whole picking up Kakashi had been kind of awkward in her opinion, but she could see the two's friendship re-healing slowly. It would take a lot more than a few dinners and lunches to get over the pain she felt from the group of four men… she would give them a chance, at least, and she would try. That was all she would give them.

Turning to her smirking brunette roommate, Sakura slapped him on the chest; the bastard probably deserved more than that, but she was pretty smug when Shikamaru sent her a glare.

"Smugness doesn't suit you," Shikamaru said as he sighed before leaning back in the booth. Looking across from him, he at least was thankful Ino was sitting next to him; that woman was the devil incarnate.

Sakura grinned slightly before standing and walking over to the bar. It was funny that everyone had not yet arrived, and it was already an hour after the scheduled meeting time. Sakura had heard Hinata, Kiba, and Shino had been sent on a mission a day before, but she was certain they would still arrive sometime tonight; Kiba rarely missed one of these get-togethers. He had once told her it was too fun teasing Ino not to be here.

With that thought, Sakura grabbed two sake bottles from the bar and walked back to the table. Naruto, Sai, and Sasuke had yet to come as well… Sakura wasn't worried about them, but she did know Naruto would probably even less likely to miss the get-together than Kiba; Naruto loved all the rookie nine, and it had been a while since he had last seen them.

Placing the two sake bottles on the table, Sakura grabbed one of the bottles and started to drink it straight from the bottle. Alcohol wasn't something that would easily hamper her system; years of training with Tsunade had attested to that.

As she finished swallowing her drink, Sakura casted a mischievous look over to the dance floor. That was where Neji and Tenten had been since she had arrived. She watched as the twin bun headed girl twisted her hips in a sinful sort of way that distracted the brunette she was dancing with. Sakura fought a smile; Tenten and Neji were seen as a perfect couple once people thought about it. The two had been teammates for over six years, and the two knew each other better than anyone else.

And, Sakura thought dreamily, they looked so damn good together. And Sakura was proud of one of her male best friend. He had been the one to initiate the relationship only a year ago. Sakura liked to think she had influenced Neji in making his decision, but she knew she hadn't… Shikamaru had been the one to give Neji advice; Sakura did still like to take the credit though. Grinning, Sakura looked back to the table in front of her.

Ino looked bored as she stirred the dry martini that was in her grasp; Sakura knew she would be waiting for Kiba. The teasing between the two was completely mutual, and Sakura sighed when she thought about her two friends. The two just reeked of sexual tension when they were together; everyone had a bet going to when the two would finally break down and sleep together.

Taking another swig of her sake, Sakura reached over and flicked Ino across the forehead; even without chakra she knew the flick would hurt a little. She just wanted to distract her friend. "Let's dance."

Ino grinned as she gulped down her martini quickly. As the blonde lead the two away, Shikamaru shook his head while he stayed seated in the booth; Ino was known for being a light weight.

Sakura laughed when the blonde narrowly dodged a waitress as she neared the dance floor; Sakura wondered how many drinks Ino had drunk before Sakura had arrived. Sakura was sure the number was over three, and that number was getting very close to the blonde's limit.

"You can't be drunk when he shows up, Ino," Sakura teased slightly while she tugged the blonde to the dance floor.

"He's not going to show up, Forehead," Ino said while letting out a frustrated groan. The sexual tension was obviously becoming too much for her poor blonde friend.

"Of course he will," Sakura said with a grin as she wrapped her arms around her friend's hip. She slowly brought the blonde closer and the two eased into a slow and sensual rhythm. After years of being dragged to the clubs, Sakura had finally learned to let loose. Bringing the blonde closer, she whispered into her ear. "He can't stand leaving you alone for too long."

Ino giggled as her hips began to speed up slightly; the song switched to something faster, and she threw her hands up in the air. Sakura took a step back as she watched her friend dance; Ino could be such a wreck loose sometimes, but Sakura couldn't help but to love her anyway.

As she was about to join her friend in her merry dance, Sakura stopped when she felt a hand brush her lower back. "You won't mind if I cut in, will you?" A masculine voice practically growled in her ear. Sakura chuckled but shook her head in response; she was only trying to take Ino's mind away from the male anyhow.

As she walked back to the booth, she watched the brunette headed shinobi wrap his arms around Ino's waist, and pull her flush against him. Sakura fought a smile at the surprised squeak Ino made at the contact.

Sitting beside Shikamaru again, Sakura noticed Hinata and Shino sitting across from her. "How was your mission?"

"It went well, Sakura-Chan," Hinata said with a smile as she held the glass in her hand. Sakura knew the glass in the ravenette's hand held water, and Sakura smiled at the still innocent nature of Hinata.

"That's good," Sakura said as she took the last drink of her sake. She sent a silent glare to the male that sat beside her, but he just ignored it. Sakura knew she had more sake in her bottle before she stood up to dance with Ino; it was obvious he had stolen some. She'd confront him about it later; no need to scare the other members of the rookie nine. "How have you been lately, Hinata? I swear, it's been a while since I've seen you last."

"Very well," Hinata said as a slight blush dusted her cheeks; Hinata was never one to really enjoy the spot light. "I'm actually talking to the Hokage tomorrow about getting a job as a teacher in the ninja academy."

"That's wonderful Hinata!" Sakura said with a grin. The raven haired woman had only become a chunin a short while ago, but she had shown the potential to be more than that for a while now. "I know Iruka would really enjoy the help, and I'm sure you'll do so well with the kids."

Hinata blushed once again, but as she was about to say something, she was cut off as her eyes wandered to the door. She took in a nervous breath, and her cheeks grew an even darker rosy color.

Raising an eyebrow, Sakura looked to her roommate in question. As she turned to Shikamaru she rolled her eyes at finding him actually asleep; only he would be able to sleep in this place. Turning her head towards the door, Sakura finally found the reason why Hinata seemed so nervous; really, it should have been much easier to guess.

Her three teammates had decided to show their faces and finally arrive at the bar. Shaking her head slightly, Sakura almost missed the fact that the group of three had decided to dress up slightly for the occasion. She almost gapped at the three.

Naruto was wearing a button down black shirt with a park of white pants; she was surprised that he even owned something white. Sasuke stood next to him wearing a navy blue long sleeved shirt with a pair of black ninja pants. Sai, who she had never seen in anything other than ninja attire, was in a white button up shirt and black pants.

The group of three actually looked really good, and she fought a small blush when the three spotted her, and headed her way.

Taking in a breath to calm her breathing, Sakura grabbed for the other sake bottle she had brought to the table earlier. Gripping the bottle, Sakura took a large swig, before the group of three seemed to appear before her.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto said while his blue eyes glistened with an emotion Sakura could only place as deep appreciation. She watched as his blue eyes danced over her outfit choice, and his appreciation grew.

"Hey guys," Sakura said as she gave them a small wave; she was at least glad they wouldn't be able to sit down with her. There was only enough room for four people in the booths; Sakura was thankful, because she needed to calm down these weird emotions at seeing the three males look so good. They hadn't always looked this handsome, had they?

Shaking her head slightly, Sakura noticed the slight tense and awkward atmosphere; why the hell did it always have to be awkward? And that was when she looked up to the group of three; two out of the three were just staring at her… it unnerved her. After a few more seconds of Naruto and Sasuke's stares, Sakura did something completely spontaneous.

Practically groaning, Sakura stood in her seat and walked over to Sai before taking his hand.

"Dance with me," she said aloud as she led Sai to the dance floor. The idea was something completely ridiculous, and she knew, for some reason, would make Naruto and Sasuke jealous (well Naruto at least). But she couldn't stand all the testosterone that was surrounding her back at the booth; it was practically suffocating her, and it was making it so hard to think.

And Sai had been the only one that wasn't staring at her like she was a piece of meat… not that the other two were, completely. It was just strange to have male attention on her, and though Sakura wanted their attention, she wanted it for a different reason. She wanted them to respect her for her fighting skills and her strength, not the looks she had acquired while they had been away.

Sighing slightly, Sakura wrapped her arms around Sai's shoulders as they arrived at the dance floor. After a minute of standing their oddly, Sakura grinned slightly before moving Sai's hands to rest on her waist. After that step was taken, Sakura then replaced her arms back on Sai's shoulders, and started to dance slowly.

She was very grateful that the music had slowed; she wasn't sure what she would have done with herself if it had been the fast paced music that she and Ino were dancing to earlier. Looking up to the pale raven haired man, Sakura fought a smirk when she noticed his face.

Sai's brow was furrowed slightly, and he had tilted his head to the right in confusion. His lips also were pursing lightly; Sakura let a feeling of proudness flow through her. Sai was actually showing confusion; a real human emotion. She would have liked to tease him a little bit, but really, Sai was the one that had saved her butt, so she didn't.

"Thanks Sai," Sakura said as she gave the man a smile. The smile only seemed to confuse the male further.

"Is this what people call 'dancing' Sakura-Chan?" Sai questioned as he started to move to the rhythm of the music. Sakura grinned and smiled.

"Yes Sai," Sakura said while she led him a little more. "Have you never danced before?"

"No, I haven't," Sai said while he swiftly began leading her in steps. "But I have read many books on the subject, and I have witnessed it many times before."

"Well I'm glad I can be the first one to share a dance with you, Sai," Sakura said with as she allowed Sai to lead. For never dancing a day in his life, he was unbelievably smooth with his movements; Sakura figured it was probably because of his shinobi background.

"Yes," Sai spoke as his eyes met Sakura's. "You seem to be an adequate partner. Can you tell me why you chose to dance with me instead of our teammates?"

The question was very blunt, and so very Sai. It seemed he hadn't learned a lot on social cues from the year he had spent away from the village… she had tried teaching him, but there had only been minimal improvements in his behavior before he and Kakashi had left. Now, it had seemed all her hard work had gone to waste.

"… I, uh, wanted to?" Sakura questioned slightly with a small smile and a blush. Smooth Sakura, real smooth. Shaking her head slightly, she looked up to Sai again. "You seemed like the best choice."

"That is an acceptable response," Sai nodded slightly. "I wouldn't want to dance with the Traitor or Dickless either." Sakura had to fight a laugh at Sai's nickname for their two teammates. Sometimes she just loved his blunt honesty.

"But of course," Sai said speaking again; it looked like he had been thinking for a short time before speaking. "You did appear to be a distracted by all our looks; mine especially. Did you choose to dance with me because of my nontraditional attire?"

And then, sometimes, Sakura really hated his blunt honesty.


	7. Chapter 7: Fed Up

Thank you so much to Keyade from deviantART . com! She gave me permission to use her wonderful picture of team seven as the head image. I suggest going to see other artwork she had posted online as well; she has an unbelievable talent.

Simply Sakura 7: Fed Up

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

And thank you to all of the reviewers; I appreciate every review I receive! And I am so excited to update two of my most popular stories in the same night! YAY! : )

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><p>She still wanted to be angry at them, and apart of her still was. How could she not be mad at them after everything they had done to her? But, she thought as she walked to the Hokage tower, she needed to at least get away from them for a while. If she was able to clear her head, maybe it would help her think more clearly.<p>

She was sure their presence was corrupting her emotions; she had been pretty firm in her decision of how she would treat them before she had even talked to them, and now look at her.

Sakura let out a low bitter laugh as she walked further down the road. She was getting right back to where she had been before her teammates had even left. She was becoming self-conscious, something she completely loathed, and she was starting to second guess herself again.

Groaning at the thought, the pinkette knew a mission would do her some good. As she arrived at her sensei's door, she hoped Tsunade could only agree with her choice.

Solo missions weren't new to Sakura, but that didn't mean she went on them all the time. Usually, if Shikamaru wasn't on a mission with his team, he would be her partner. If Shikamaru couldn't do it, Neji would quickly be the next one she would want to go with.

And it had actually been a while since Sakura had been out on a mission; Tsunade had kept her cooped up in the hospital for a few months now. Sakura presumed Tsunade knew she would be getting angsty.

Taking a step inside the room, Sakura fought a grin when she saw the Hokage. The blonde was slumped down on her desk; empty sake bottles filled the room. Having Tsunade agree with her would actually be a lot easier than she had first thought; Tsunade usually agreed to anything when she was drunk.

But that didn't mean Sakura wanted to be the one to wake her sleeping sensei. Sighing, Sakura quietly snuck over to the blonde and made a few hand signs. Her hands began to glow green, and Sakura allowed her fingers to run over her sensei's scalp.

After a few minutes, a groan escaped Tsunade, and her almond eyes slowly opened. The Hokage looked a great deal more relaxed, and Sakura knew she would be able to get away with anything if she needed to at this point.

"You always were my favorite student, Sakura," Tsunade said in bliss as Sakura's fingers continued to run through Tsunade's hair. Sakura smirked at the compliment, but thanked the Hokage nonetheless.

"I'd like a mission," Sakura said once Tsunade seemed to be completely awake. Sakura took a couple steps back from the Hokage and waited for her answer.

"Sure," Tsunade said with a nod as she looked through some paperwork. "Solo or do you want Neji and Shika to go with you?"

"Preferably solo," Sakura said as she looked to the papers that were scattered across Tsunade's desk.

"Alright," Tsunade said as she dug one scroll out of a pile. "I do have a mission that would need your expertise, but it'll probably be too easy and you'll be paid very well; are you up for it?"

"Kami, yes," Sakura said as she sighed in bliss. It was about time she got a good mission. "What is it?"

"You do know I love tea almost as much as I love sake, right?" Tsunade asked while looked to the pinkette with a bit of seriousness.

"Of course, Tsunade-sama," Sakura said with a nod.

"Well," Tsunade said as she threw Sakura the folder. "I need to refill my tea cabinet. I need you to go to the Land of Tea and find me the best tea in the country."

"So… you're paying me to go around and sip tea?" Sakura asked as she felt her shoulders shrink back a little; the mission would be so easy, but then again it wouldn't be stressful, and she could enjoy herself.

"Yep," Tsunade said with a smirk. "I'm making it an A rank mission, because I'm the Hokage and I can. I'd like you back in about a week, but if you need longer send a hawk, and I'm sure I can spare another week."

"Kami Tsunade-sama, I love you sometimes," Sakura said as she bowed.

"You're welcome kid," Tsunade said with a smirk and a wave of her hand. "Go pack, tell your roommate good bye and I'll see you soon."

"Bye," Sakura said as she walked out of the office with a scroll in her hand. Kami, would this be good for her. Grinning to herself, Sakura practically skipped down the stairs.

It had also been a while since she had been on her last mission. She had been stuck in the hospital for far too long, and Sakura was now more than happy to have a little vacation/mission.

Thinking on it, her last mission had been with Shikamaru. She actually couldn't remember her last solo mission, but that didn't mean she never had one before. Flaring her chakra, Sakura easily walked to a small café a few blocks away from her apartment after she sensed her roommate's chakra. She should have known Shikamaru would be found here.

"Hey Shika!" Sakura said with a bit of excitement as she slid into the booth across from him. It didn't surprise her at all to find Shikamaru at the quaint tea house getting breakfast. She had been too distracted to make herself, or him for that matter, any; the poor guy was probably starving. "Guess what?"

Shikamaru only raised an eyebrow before taking a sip of his tea. "You actually did make breakfast, but hid it on me?"

Sakura shook her head as her smile widened. "No," she said. "You know I would never be that mean to you; I'd at least give you clues to where I had hidden it. But really, what I was trying to tell you earlier is: I got a solo mission from Tsunade-sama."

At this, Shikamaru's ears perked up. He set his tea down and a looked to the pinkette again. "And you're excited about this?"

"Yes!" Sakura said with a grin. "I asked for it; I figured I needed one after what happened last night. She's sending me to the Land of Tea to drink tea!"

Shikamaru frowned slightly, before his lip began to pucker outward. "Do you need a partner?"

"No," Sakura said as she enjoyed the look Shikamaru had on his face. He was trying to pout and get his way, but Sakura wouldn't let him. She quickly turned away from his pout before it took effect; Kami knew she wouldn't be able to fight his pout for long. She needed to be alone for a while anyway; she couldn't take him on this mission. "I'm leaving today, and there's no way I'm going to let you come and ruin my holiday."

"But I want to go with you," Shikamaru said with a small whine. She fought the impulse to look at him; he was probably still pouting. "I never get to go on good missions like this."

"Well then you should talk to Tsunade-sama about giving you one then," Sakura said as she stood from her seat; she had to leave before the pout would change her mind. "I'll be gone for a week or so; take care of yourself, okay?"

Shikamaru's mouth moved before he could stop himself. "What about your challenge against Naruto?" She hadn't really been thinking about the challenge, even though Team Seven pretty much invaded her mind more so than not. It had been something she hadn't been concerned with, but she knew she would prove her strength to them no matter what.

Sakura smiled wistfully before responding, "Tell him he'll just have to wait a little bit longer for it."

Shikamaru smirked, but nodded before he watched his roommate walk out of the tea house. She needed this, he knew. There were so many emotions raging against each other in Sakura's head that it was the most logical course of action.

He couldn't blame her for wanting a break; Team Seven's males were just too much for any one woman to take. Hell, they were too much for him to take.

"Speaking of which," Shikamaru said with slight amusement as he watched Sasuke enter the tea house. Looking at the raven haired man, Shikamaru smirked before taking another sip of his tea.

Oh, he knew how they felt about Sakura; he could see the effect Sakura caused all four men. To put it simply, the men were attracted to her, and Sakura, even though she would never say this aloud, was attracted to them as well.

But, Sakura had something to prove to her old team, and Shikamaru would stick by Sakura while she taught each and every one of those males a lesson. Grinning, Shikamaru watched Sasuke turn his head towards Shikamaru's direction. Inclining his head, Shikamaru offered Sasuke a seat; he was surprised when the raven haired man actually took it.

"What brings Sasuke Uchiha to my favorite tea house?" Shikamaru asked while looking at Sasuke's posture. He was stiff straight, as always, but for some reason Sasuke seemed a bit more uncomfortable than normal. Grinning, Shikamaru hoped he was the cause of Sasuke's discomfort.

"I was actually looking for Sakura," Sasuke's answer surprised Shikamaru; the fact that Sasuke had responded at all surprised him.

"You just missed her," Shikamaru said while taking another swig of his tea; Kami he hoped Sakura would bring him back some. "She's going to be leaving on a mission pretty soon."

"A mission?" Sasuke asked as he seemed ready to bolt. His poor roommate, Shikamaru thought with a shake of his head, she had to deal with so much idiocy.

"Yes a mission," Shikamaru said with a deadpanned tone. "She is a shinobi."

Shikamaru knew that if Sasuke were a lesser man, he would have growled. Inwardly giggling to himself, Shikamaru continued. "She said she was going on a solo mission, and would be gone for a week or so. In all reality, I think she was just trying to get away from you guys. You're smothering her."

"She's our teammate," Sasuke responded quickly, it was like he was trying to defend his actions for some reason.

"Was," Shikamaru said with a slight glare; he was getting tired of their aloofness. It was time for Sasuke to finally understand. "You guys left her; did you really think you could waltz right back into her life once you returned?"

Shikamaru stopped his rant once his food had arrived; anko dumplings appeared before him and Shikamaru sighed in relief. Looking to the food, Shikamaru grabbed the stick of dumplings before throwing some money onto the table.

"Just give her some space," Shikamaru said before leaving. Maybe, finally one of her teammates would listen for once.

XxxX

Sakura felt free and elated as she walked towards the village gates. This mission would do her some good; being away from males would be good for her. Hell, when she got back, she promised herself she would go on a shopping trip with Ino, and then a training session with Tenten; females were less complicated than males proved to be.

As she was about to begin her trek, she stopped when she felt a chakra signature approaching quickly. Turning back towards the gate, Sakura didn't know what to say when she saw Sasuke standing before her; a pack was located on his back. Oh, this would not be good at all…

"Sasuke?"

"Tsunade-sama said I am to accompany you on this mission," Sasuke replied tonelessly, but something about Sasuke just oozed smugness.

Shaking her head side to side, Sakura expressed her disapproval. "No Sasuke," Sakura said with a frown. "There is no way I am going let you come on this mission with me…"

She wanted to tell him that the only reason she was leaving Konoha was to free her mind and get away from the four males that had been invading her space since they returned. Sakura wanted to tell him that, but something told her nothing good would come from it if she did. Frowning, she looked back to the dark haired male.

"Why did Tsunade agree to have you come on this mission?" Sakura asked as she raised an eyebrow. "There's no way I need another ninja on this mission with me; it's not that hard."

"I told her I wanted to spend some time with you," Sasuke spoke quietly as he started to walk out of the village gate. "She agreed it would be a good idea."

Sakura let out a frustrated growl as she looked back to the raven haired male. "No," she said again with a frown.

For some reason, Sasuke looked amused. The fact that he looked amused only proved to piss Sakura off even more. "Yes," Sasuke snipped back as he stood next to her. "We should be leaving."

Just as he turned around, Sakura's fist connected with the back of his head. The punch did not have chakra infused with it, but it was still hard enough to send Sasuke flying forward. She also didn't use chakra because Sasuke would have been able to sense the punch if she had, and she really didn't want to hurt Sasuke _that_ badly.

Sakura grinned with satisfaction as she stood beside Sasuke; the raven haired male was currently sitting on his bottom looking more than a little confused.

"We should be leaving," Sakura mimicked sarcastically as she started to walk past where Sasuke sat. If he had been sent by Tsunade, there was no way she could fight it. She would just have to hope Sasuke would leave her alone enough to collect her thoughts while she was on this mission. He was usually pretty quiet, wasn't he?

And when she got home, Sakura would give Tsunade a stern talking to before giving the blonde her tea.

Picking up her pace, Sakura added chakra to her legs. She felt Sasuke appear beside her, and she increased her pace even more.

"Was she drunk?" Sakura questioned without even looking over at Sasuke. "Or did you bring her sake?"

She heard Sasuke grunt, and she knew she had been right. There would have been no other way for Tsunade to agree to this; especially after Sasuke had just returned home from being a missing nin. Raising her eyebrow, she waited for an answer.

"Both," the Uchiha heir replied reluctantly. Sakura grinned slightly in victory before she realized she would be spending the next week with Sasuke… one of the people she had left the village to get away from.

Sighing, Sakura continued on her way; this would be a long mission now… maybe she should have agreed to let Shikamaru come with her.

XxxX

Shikamaru lazily walked to the Hokage tower. He was hoping to get sent on Sakura's mission for back up; who knew if she would need it or not, but Shikamaru had come up with a pretty good idea on how to convince Tsunade to let him go.

Gripping the two bottles of sake, he knocked on the Hokage's door loudly. Getting a muffled grunt, Shikamaru raised an eyebrow before taking that as a sign to enter. Opening the door, he quickly entered before looking at the Hokage who slept before him.

Walking a little closer to her desk, Shikamaru took his chances and coughed into his hand. Watching the Hokage for a reaction, he watched her twitch before snoring again. Shaking his head, Shikamaru couldn't believe how ridiculous the woman who ran the village was.

"Hokage-sama," Shikamaru tried again. Watching her begin to stir, Shikamaru congratulated himself on a job well done. Waiting for the Hokage to completely wake up, Shikamaru smirked slightly.

"What do you want Nara?" The Hokage asked with a slight glare. Hiding his smirk, Shikamaru placed both sake bottles on the table.

"I just wanted to tell you how great of a Hokage you are, Hokage-sama," Shikamaru said with a bit of fake enthusiasm. "And I wanted to thank you by giving you two bottles of the best sake."

Tsunade's grumble turned into a grin as she gladly accepted the bottles. After putting the bottles safely away in her desk drawer, she looked to Shikamaru again. "Now, really, what are you doing here?"

"Can I go on Sakura's mission?" Shikamaru asked with a small pout. "You know how much I like tea! And what if Sakura needs back up and-"

"I already sent someone else on the mission with Sakura," Tsunade said with a shake of her hand. The other hand was ineffectively rubbing her right temple.

"Who?" Shikamaru asked with a great deal of suspicion. He swore, if it was who he thought it was, he was going to castrate the bastard when he got home.

"Sasuke."

"Damn Uchiha," Shikamaru muttered under his breath. Hadn't Shikamaru told the Uchiha Sakura needed space? What the hell was he doing inviting himself on missions for?

"What was that, Shikamaru?"

"It's going to take a while to explain it, Tsunade-sama," Shikamaru said while taking a seat in one of the chairs by Tsunade's desk. "You might as well open one of the sake bottles I got you; I'm going to let you know everything that has happened since Team Seven has come back to Konoha."

XxxX

Grinning happily, Shikamaru raced through the village gate. He really hadn't expected Tsunade to send him off on the mission after he had explained everything, but he was more than happy he was going.

He would make Sasuke Uchiha's life was hell, if Sakura wasn't doing that already. Grinning again, Shikamaru increased his pace. He would be able to intercept the two before too long, and when he did, he would start to implement his and Tsunade-sama's plan; the Hokage could be very conniving when she was drunk. Shikamaru was more than happy to play his role.


	8. Chapter 8: Shikamaru's Plan Part 1

Thank you all for the reviews and favorites! I'm really excited for this story. And I'm sorry I haven't updated sooner; I've had a lot going on lately. I promise I'll try to update more; Sorry this isn't as much as most of you were hoping for.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto; I do not own the picture of team seven

Simply Sakura 8: Shikamaru's Plan in Action 1

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><p>She sat across from him looking at the fire; she was still so upset with him. She hadn't talked to him since they had left Konoha and she was becoming happier and happier with her decision. Who did Sasuke think he was, inviting himself on her mission? Kami, this was starting to remind her of her days as a genin…<p>

And this whole thing just irritated her. Tsunade had sent her on this mission as a chance to get away, but one of the things she wanted to get away from had come with her. Sitting up slightly from her spot, Sakura listed off the multiple ways she would be able to physically maim Sasuke.

Feeling slightly better, Sakura sighed while she tried to think about what she would do with the predicament she was currently in. A part of her needed time and space away from her teammates, while another part of her just wanted to forgive and be with them.

For the past three days that they had been back, they had caused more trouble than she had to deal with the whole time they had been gone… One, they all had tried (rather unsuccessfully) to spy on her, Kakashi had called her too skinny, Sai had embarrassed her, Naruto had all but called her weak, and now Sasuke was literally forcing her to spend time with him. The last one especially irritated her.

Standing, she watched as Sasuke's eyes followed her form where ever she went. The list of things she was finding annoying about Sasuke was slowly growing… But no matter what she had to try to calm herself down; she now had to deal with Sasuke for as long as the mission lasted.

Looking over the fire, Sakura noticed his ebony eyes on her form. He hadn't looked away from her since they had stopped and set up camp. It was unnerving and making her more than a little nervous.

"What are you looking at Sasuke?" Sakura asked with a sigh as she looked him in the eye. There, she would ask him, and if she didn't agree with his answer she would punch him. She was trying to think rationally, but he wasn't really giving her much time to think that way.

"…" His silence was another thing to add to the list of things that annoyed her. When she asked a question, then he should answer it.

Standing, Sakura looked across the fire with a slight glare; she was tired and annoyed, and she really just wanted to be alone. "Sasuke, answer the question."

Sasuke, in response, turned his head slightly and looked confused. Sakura knew if he answered it would be obvious: 'I'm looking at you Sakura.'

"Why are you here?" Sakura asked with a sigh of defeat; of course Sasuke wouldn't understand. "I left Konoha to think, and I wanted to spend time by myself to do so."

"I came here to spend time with you," Sasuke answered in a monotone voice as his eyes glistened over the fire. "And I've given you time to think."

Sakura growled; she was so frustrated with her previous teammates. "No Sasuke," Sakura bit out in frustration. "You didn't give me time to think. I was alone for two minutes before you came along."

Sasuke still looked confused, and Sakura was still pissed. Taking in a deep breath, Sakura closed her eyes as she tried to calm herself. She was an adult, she was a jounin, she had survived without the four men of team seven for so long that she didn't know what to do now that they were back.

They were confusing, and irritating, and handsome, and so damn annoying. Letting out the deep breath she had taken only a few seconds before, Sakura crossed the short distance until she was standing in front of Sasuke. She tried to bite the bottom of her lip in restraint; she didn't want to explode with anger and tear apart the whole forest. "I just want you to acknowledge the fact that you came here behind my back without my approval."

"… I wanted to make sure you didn't get hurt."

And that was it. Bringing back her fist, Sakura quickly threw it forward with as much force as she could muster. She was seeing red at this point, and there was no way she was going be able to calm down until she hit something.

Who the hell did he think he was anyway? Trying to act like he cared… he wasn't fooling anyone with the line he had just said. It made her feel demeaned; she wasn't some sort of princess that needed to be rescued anymore.

She watched as Sasuke quickly darted out of the way; her fist crashed into the tree he was standing in front of. Letting out another ragged breath, Sakura watched as the tree she had just punched went crashing down to the ground. The sight of the tree falling to the ground only made her feel a little bit better.

She turned quickly to Sasuke who stood a yard and a half away from her; good, he was learning. His eyes were wide and he looked highly alarmed at the display of power she had just showed. Smirking slightly, Sakura felt a great deal of pride swell in her at the look on Sasuke's face.

Maybe, just maybe he could finally take her seriously now. Taking in a smaller breath, Sakura sighed. This whole mission was supposed to be relaxing for her, and so far it had been anything but. Looking over to Sasuke, Sakura knew she would have to say something first. Before she could speak, though, a loud clapping was heard. Turning towards where the noise was coming from, Sakura was not surprised to see Shikamaru standing there.

"Hey Sakura," Shikamaru said as a sly grin adored his face; ohh, Sakura did not trust that grin at all. Her roommate was up to something, and Sakura knew she wasn't going to like it.

"Shikamaru," Sakura said with a light air of question. Why was her roommate here? She assumed this would only make things worse. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

Shikamaru snorted at Sakura's unlady like language before he started to walk towards her. When he stood right next to her, he threw his arm over her shoulder and brought her close to him. "Tsunade-sama assigned me a mission in the tea village, and said that I should travel with you."

Sakura really did not trust her teammate now; he had just openly admitted to scheming with the Hokage… well he didn't openly admit it, but Sakura was more than positive the two of them were in cahoots.

"What's your mission then?" It was Sasuke who spoke, and he sounded suspicious. Well good, at least she wasn't going completely crazy.

"Classified," Shikamaru answered with a grin. His hand only tightened on Sakura's shoulder before he glanced back to Sasuke. "You know, the hush hush secret type mission."

"You're ridiculous," Sakura said as she threw Shikamaru's arm off of her shoulder. It wasn't like she was bothered by Shikamaru's touch; it was just that he usually wasn't so affectionate. And, Sasuke was glaring daggers at Shikamaru… If he sent a fireball towards Shikamaru, Sakura wanted ample time to escape before she was caught in the middle of it.

"I know," Shikamaru said while looking back to Sakura. Again, Sakura knew there was something going on; Shikamaru's sienna colored eyes were glowing with mischief, and she did not trust him one bit.

Shaking her head slightly, Sakura walked back over to her spot on the opposite side of the fire. If Shikamaru and Sasuke had something to discuss they could do it without her being there. She was done with all the males in her life at this point.

XxxX

"What are you doing here?" Surprisingly, Sasuke was the first to speak. Raising a slight eyebrow, Shikamaru smirked slightly.

"I could ask you the same thing, Uchiha," Shikamaru said while he rested sluggishly against a tree. "Didn't I warn you not to go on this mission with Sakura? Way to listen to that suggestion."

Sasuke looked over to where Sakura sat; the pinkette was completely ignoring the two's conversation. Glaring back to Shikamaru, Sasuke took in a deep breath before he began to speak. "You don't know anything, and you shouldn't have come here."

Shikamaru gave Sasuke a pointed look before walking over to where the pinkette sat. Her baby pink hair was glistening in the light of the fire, and Shikamaru grinned at the opportunity the picturesque pinkette made.

Sitting down beside her, Shikamaru placed his hand on her shoulder again. Sakura was too tired to even fight it and instead rested her head on his shoulder.

"I know you're up to something," Sakura said tiredly. "But at this point I'm too tired to care. I'll start caring in the morning."

Looking back to Sasuke, Shikamaru winked before nestling closer to Sakura. Shikamaru was taking great pleasure out of the looks Sasuke was firing at him. He grinned at the plan he and Tsunade concocted. This plan would be over the course of this mission, and maybe even a few weeks after. It all depended upon how stubborn the raven haired male across from him would be.

Now, he would enjoy the fact that Sakura's head was resting on his shoulder, and the fact that she wasn't punching him for it. He would be smug about this, and he would let Sasuke brood in the corner for a while; he deserved it for ignoring Shikamaru's warning in the first place.

Looking to the pinkette beside him his eyes began to close; his plan would commence in the morning.

XxxX

Sakura woke with a sigh and a stretch. It was before sunrise and Sakura noticed that her two companions were still asleep. She raised an eyebrow at the position she and Shikamaru had been in though. It wasn't unusual, per say, but it certainly wasn't normal by any means.

Shikamaru's arms were wrapped around her shoulders, and the brunette's head was awfully close to her own. This only happened back at their apartment when they were watching a movie, or fell asleep next to each other on the couch. They never snuggled with each other on a mission. Shaking her head, Sakura detangled herself from Shikamaru's grasp and quickly stood. Grabbing some food from her back, Sakura started to eat a little breakfast for herself, and idly wondered how upset her companions would be if she just left without them.

Weighing the pros and cons of her decision, she sighed once she watched her brunette headed roommate wake. Without even giving him a second to think she appeared before him.

"Why the hell are you here?" Sakura asked as she looked at Shikamaru with a blank stare. She was tired of everyone leaving her out of the loop. She deserved answers, especially when she knew Shikamaru was here to cause trouble, and more than likely that trouble would deal with her.

"I already told you," Shikamaru said sleepily as he put his arm over his eyes. Even if it wasn't light outside, Shikamaru still liked to cover his eyes. "Tsunade sent me on a mission."

"Shikamaru," Sakura said with a stern glare; Shikamaru seemed unaffected, and Sakura sighed. "I know you, and I know Tsunade-sama, there is no way she would send you on a mission when she could have just added it to my mission."

Moving his arm away from his eyes, Shikamaru gave Sakura a look. "Then why did Tsunade send me out here? Do you really think she has the time, energy, and money to just send me out here for no reason?"

Sakura frowned. "I still don't trust you… I feel like you're up to something."

"Don't worry about it Sakura," Shikamaru said while waving a hand in the air; the man looked so carefree in his pose. "You know I'm too lazy to even try to plot or scheme things."

Sakura looked at Shikamaru for a second before nodding. Yes, usually Shikamaru was too lazy to do most of that. The male had eased Sakura's mind, somewhat, she still thought he was up to something.

"Want some breakfast?" Sakura asked while grabbing her back. The brunette nodded as he leaned back again to lie down. "I have dehydrated fruit or dried meat, take your pick."

Shikamaru cringed before motioning to the dried meat. "Why did you bother to pack this stuff? I'm sure you probably had some crackers or something you could have packed."

Sakura sent Shikamaru a warning glance. "If you don't like the food I packed, then you won't eat the food I packed, got it?"

Nodding, Shikamaru held his tongue as he grabbed the bag of dried meat. Sighing, he looked back to Sakura. "What do you think he would do if we just left him here?"

"That's funny," Sakura said with a smile. "Because I was thinking the same thing before you woke up."

Shikamaru gave Sakura a glare as he put a piece of dried meat in his mouth. "You were actually thinking about leaving me here with Sasuke?"

Grinning Sakura chose not to respond. Walking to her bed roll, Sakura quickly rolled it up and put it in her pack. "I thought about it, but you woke up too quickly for me to really consider it," Sakura said. "I don't think I could have done that, though. Tsunade-sama would have probably killed me if I had left the two of you behind… Kami knows you would have killed each other."

Just as Shikamaru was about to say something, he watched Sasuke's eyes open. It seemed the raven haired male was finally awake; good, the plan would start now.

Grabbing a piece of dried meat from the bag, Shikamaru took a bite and closed his eyes in bliss while letting out a slight groan. "Sakura this is really good. You've got to try it."

Taking the piece he just bit off of, Shikamaru brought the piece to Sakura's lips. As she opened her mouth to protest, Shikamaru gracefully plopped the food into her mouth brushing against her lips as he brought his fingers away.

The pinkette's face went a little red, but she thanked Shikamaru. Shikamaru brought another hunk of meat to his mouth and this time let out a loud groan at the taste. Sakura shook her head as she chewed the meat carefully; it wasn't that good…

"Oh Sasuke," Sakura said with a nod to the raven haired male. "Do you want some breakfast? I have dehydrated fruit or dried meat."

"Fruit," Sasuke grunted while he packed away his sleeping pack. Sakura couldn't help but give a mental groan; this trip was not going to be fun. Sasuke wasn't a morning person, and Shikamaru wasn't a midday type person. Her only relief would be at night… she hoped they would arrive at a hotel or spa soon.

Sakura threw the bag of fruit to Sasuke, who caught it with ease. He looked at the bag slightly before shrugging his shoulders and digging in. Sakura gave Shikamaru a look that said, 'ha, at least he appreciates my food,' before she stood. Covering up the make shift fire they had created the night before, Sakura looked to her two companions.

"I'm hoping we can arrive at the bath houses on the outer edge of the Fire Country by tonight," Sakura said as she heaved her backpack on to her shoulders. "Well, at least that's what I'm planning to do. You can either follow me without complaint, or you can stay here; I was hoping the latter actually…"

"The bath houses? Aren't those at least a day and half away?" Shikamaru questioned while he packed up his bed roll.

"I know," Sakura said as she turned and started to head in the direction of the bath houses. "We'll just have to push ourselves to get there, hmm?"

She didn't care that it was almost a day and a halves journey away, all she wanted was for the soothing lavender smelling water to calm her mind and her body. She would certainly need it after spending the day with Shikamaru and Sasuke.


	9. Chapter 9: Shikamaru's Plan in Action 2

Hello everyone! I'm here to update this story. Hopefully I can get back into it more and update it more for you all! Reviews are always appreciated : ) I am hoping to update more of my stories in the near future! Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naurto

Chapter 9: Shikamaru's Plan in Action 2

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><p>"<em>It's been weird with the rest of team seven back," Shikamaru started as he looked across the desk at the Hokage. "The whole team has been really interested in Sakura; more interested than they have ever been."<em>

"_That shouldn't be too surprising, Shikamaru," the Hokage spoke as she began to rub her temples; her finger tips glowing an emerald green. "I mean they haven't seen each other in a year and Sakura's gotten a lot stronger."_

"_No, Hokage-sama," Shikamaru said shaking his head. "It's not that kind of interest, I can tell. You should have seen the looks they gave Sakura last night; it was almost like they wanted to devour her in the kimono she was wearing."_

"…_They have that type of interest with her, you say?" Tsunade asked as her eyes glistened with a mischievousness that Shikamaru had not seen before. "All four of them?"_

"_Naruto and Sasuke for sure," Shikamaru said with a nod. "Sasuke's trying to be good at hiding his emotions, but I can tell when someone is interested in my roommate. I'm pretty sure Kakashi is too; he actually came to the gathering last night with minimal complaint. Sai is the hardest one to read out of the four… he did stop calling her ugly though, so I think that might be a sign."_

"_This sounds serious," Tsunade said as she looked to the brunette with a sigh. "But this could be good for them; when was the last time Sakura dated someone?"_

"_I don't think she ever has, Hokage-sama." Shikamaru responded with a slight frown._

"_Well then this will be really good for them," Tsunade said with a grin as her eyes flashed again. "Here's what I want you to do, Shikamaru…" _

Shikamaru sighed as he remembered his conversation with the Hokage. He knew what he was supposed to do on this mission, and he was only doing it because he believed it would help his roommate. Sakura deserved to be happy, and Shikamaru believed one of her teammates could make her happy. He just had to put them all through a few tests to see which one would be the best fit for her.

Leaping through a few more trees, Shikamaru could feel how close they were to the bath houses. Neither he nor Sasuke had complained at the speed Sakura had set. It was obvious his pink haired roommate wanted to get to the bath houses before the sun had set; it seemed she had succeeded in her plan.

"Alright, I think we can stop here," Sakura said with a smile as the bath houses came into view. She had been waiting for this all day; she had ignored both Sasuke and Shikamaru in favor of imagining herself de-stressing in the bath houses.

A weight was lifted off her shoulders as Sakura walked to the front counter. The attendant there looked to be in her early fifties; Sakura assumed she was one of the owners of the place. Before she could speak, Sakura watched the older woman lock eyes with someone behind her before Sakura started to speak. "I'd like three rooms, please," Sakura said easily, because she knew if she left Shikamaru and Sasuke alone in a room together they would literally kill each other, and there was no way in hell she was going to share a room with either of the two. She decided to ignore the look the attendant sent Shikamaru for now…

"I'm sorry Miss," the attendant said with a distressed frown. Her face wrinkled, and Sakura couldn't help but frown in response; whatever the woman was going to say, Sakura knew she wouldn't like it. "Almost every room here has been booked; there is only one room left. The room is the honeymoon suite, though, so I am sure it would be more than accommodating to you and your friends."

Sakura sighed before turning around. Something about this did not sit well with Sakura. Looking into the eyes of Shikamaru, Sakura flashed her eyes dangerously; she assumed he had done something. Shikamaru looked bored, and only a little bit of smugness radiated off of his body. Sakura's eyebrow rose before she looked back to the woman in front of her.

"If that is all you have, then I have no choice but to agree," Sakura said as she bowed her head. "Please take us there now."

"Yes Ma'am," the older woman said with a nervous bow. Following the older woman's lead, Sakura chose to ignore the woman as she explained what time dinner would be ready, when breakfast would be ready in the morning, and etc. Sakura chose to focus on how quiet the inn was, and how she couldn't feel any chakra signatures.

After following the woman for a few minutes, the group of three came to a stop outside of a double door room. Producing a key with a large red heart on it, the older woman unlocked the door in front of them. Looking inside, Sakura was a little surprised at the amenities the sweet provided. There was a large living room with a kitchen attached. There were four doors leading to other rooms as well; Sakura severely hoped that those rooms would lead to extra bedrooms.

"So this door is for the master bedroom," the older woman said while leading the group inside of the sweet. "That door is an extra bathroom; the master bedroom also has a bathroom attached to it. One of the other doors is a walk in closet, and the last door leads directly to the baths. Please, if you have any questions do not be afraid to ask me. Have a good night."

Sakura sighed as the older woman left. Looking to the two boys, Sakura immediately glared. "Don't even think about it," she said as she caught both Sasuke and Shikamaru with their mouth open; the two were about to say something. "I am getting the master bedroom _alone. _You two get to sleep on the couch."

Sakura saw Sasuke's look of distain before she spoke again. "You two weren't even supposed to be on this mission, so there is no way you can argue. Now, I am going to put my bag down and then go to the spa; I don't want to be bothered until dinner, do you understand?"

Both Sasuke and Shikamaru nodded, and Sakura nodded her head in a job well done. She had had enough of the two already, and she refused to deal with them for the time being.

Throwing her bag on the circular, king sized bed, Sakura grabbed her towel from her bag before quickly taking off in the direction of the spa. She needed to de-stress.

XxxX

"Hn," Sasuke spoke as Shikamaru felt Sakura's chakra disappear into the spa. His plan, so far, had been going off without a hitch… Well for the most part. Shikamaru knew Sakura was suspicious of him, but so far, other than glares, Sakura had not acted upon any of her suspicions.

Looking to Sasuke, who stood a few feet away from him, Shikamaru hoped he had no idea what was going on.

"You did this…" Sasuke accused as his eyes narrowed slightly. Well, so much for being hopeful…

Deciding to remain innocent until proven guilty, Shikamaru's eyes became curious; the only two people he couldn't usually trick were Sakura and the Hokage. "What do you mean, Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked as he tilted his head to the right. He could play the innocent card so well.

"There rooms are all booked here," Sasuke said as his eyes narrowed a little more. "But there are no chakra signatures here other than the three of ours. The woman at the front desk seemed to recognize you, but she didn't say anything… you're scheming something."

Shikamaru laughed so hard tears almost fell out of his eyes. "Oh Sasuke," Shikamaru said while wiping a tear that almost fell out of his eye. "Why and how do you think I would do that? It sounds like too much work to do whatever you're thinking I did; sounds much too troublesome."

"I still don't believe you," Sasuke said as he set his pack down on one of the couches. After setting the pack down, Shikamaru watched him head to the bathroom. As the bathroom door closed, a smirk appeared on Shikamaru's face.

Oh, Sasuke was so easy to manipulate. "I'm going to go join Sakura in the spa," Shikamaru called to the Uchiha as he walked passed the bathroom door. Throwing his bag on another couch, Shikamaru patiently counted to three before the bathroom door was thrown open.

"You're not joining her in the bath," Sasuke spat harshly as his glare was back in place. Shikamaru had a hard time keeping his smirk off his face as he continued.

"I don't see why not," Shikamaru said before he continued to walk. Once he reached the door that lead to the spa, Shikamaru turned around with a small smirk on his face. "It wouldn't be the first time I have seen Sakura indecent. She and I are roommates, which mean we are _very_ close."

Shikamaru watched the sharingan flash in Sasuke's eyes before he continued. "Speaking of," Shikamaru continued as he opened the door. "Did you know she has a tattoo now? Oh, she picked the perfect place to put it. At first, I was surprised that she got it _there, _but it accentuates her body and-"

Shikamaru quickly dodged the fire ball justu that was sent his way, and tsked at the damage had been done to the wall behind him. The whole hotel had to hear that one; Shikamaru inwardly began to chuckle. He hoped all of Sakura's teammates would be this easy to manipulate.

Flipping back, Shikamaru crossed his arms over his chest while feeling for Sakura's chakra. He knew she would have felt Sasuke's discharge of chakra; it made him chuckle just thinking about it.

Shikamaru knew not too look in the eyes of Sasuke Uchiha, but he could watch his hands and his body language. At this moment, it looked like Sasuke was going to come in for a punch… _perfect._

Standing his ground as Sasuke charged toward him, Shikamaru felt Sakura also turn the corner- meaning she would be in viewing distance of them now.

Bringing up his arms, Shikamaru raised them; he looked like he was trying to give up or surrender. "Sasuke," Shikamaru spoke in a calm tone. "You need to calm down. I have no idea what made you start attacking me, but calm down."

Shikamaru heard Sasuke snarl as he raced toward where Shikamaru stood. Gritting his teeth slightly, Shikamaru knew this was going to hurt. The Uchiha's fist slammed against Shikamaru's left cheek, and it sent Shikamaru flying a few feet backward.

Without even looking at the area where he had been punched, Shikamaru knew it was red, and would bruise if it were not for the medic-nin he knew would heal it.

Just as he saw Sasuke coming towards him again, a pink flash entered his vision. Sakura's emerald eyes were glaring at Sasuke, and Sasuke immediately dropped his sharingan looking slightly confused.

"What the hell, Sasuke?!" Sakura shouted while she took a few steps and kneeled down beside Shikamaru. "Why would you attack someone on your team like that?!"

Shikamaru sighed as Sakura's emerald glowing hands healed his cheek within a matter of seconds. Trying to fight the grin that was threatening to show on his face, Shikamaru instead tried to look confused as he, too, looked at Sasuke for an answer.

"I… I," Shikamaru did grin slightly as he watched Sasuke struggle with words. There was going to be no way Sasuke would tell Sakura why he had gotten so angry and attacked Shikamaru. The Uchiha had too much pride to even think about telling Sakura he was angry because Shikamaru had seen Sakura's body in a way he himself wanted to.

It probably didn't help poor Sasuke that Sakura was only clad in a small white towel; Shikamaru assumed Sasuke was having a hard time finding the right words to say with a half-naked Sakura in front of him.

Shikamaru could read Sasuke so easily and he could also manipulate him easily. Standing so that Sakura was between him and Sasuke, Shikamaru made sure Sakura's back was facing him before he flashed Sasuke a triumphant grin. Sasuke's glare increased.

"Stop that right now," Sakura said as she sent her own glare at Sasuke. "I can't even trust you to be alone with him now! Shikamaru, you can come to the bath house with me. If you can't get along with him at dinner, Sasuke, you're going to sleep in the living room by yourself."

With that said, Sakura began stopping down the hallway. Just after she turned the corner to head back to the spa, Shikamaru's grin increased before he began to follow.

This plan was just too easy.

XxxX

The bath house had been heavenly, in Shikamaru's humble opinion. He had somehow convinced Sakura to massage his tense shoulders, and when she added chakra to her hands it had felt completely blissful. Now, as he exited the bath house with his clothes back on, Shikamaru felt relaxed and reenergized; he was ready for his plan to continue.

Waiting patiently for Sakura to finishing changing back into her clothes, Shikamaru started to think of all the ways he could trip Sasuke up. Grinning as he thought of something especially mean, Shikamaru nodded to himself before Sakura exited the women's changing room.

"That was so refreshing," Sakura commented with a smile as the two began walking back to their room. After thinking for a minute, Sakura's smile turned quickly to a frown. "I don't understand why Sasuke would do that though… maybe Tsunade-sama sent him on a mission too quickly after reintegrating with Konoha. Do you think I should send her a letter explaining what happened?"

"I think that would be a wise decision," Shikamaru said as he fought a grin. This would make his life easier, because he wouldn't have to update Tsunade personally; Sakura would do the work for him.

"What were you guys even talking about?" Sakura questioned as her mind began to race. She had not seen Sasuke that angry in a long time; whatever Shikamaru did must have greatly pissed him off.

"You," Shikamaru said without hesitation. It would be easier not to lie to her in this sense; he would be stretching and going around the truth a little bit. "Well, indirectly. I wanted to go to the bath houses, and for some strange reason, Sasuke didn't want me to go near you."

"That doesn't sound like Sasuke," Sakura commented with a small frown. Shaking her head slightly, Sakura continued, "But I guess I don't know him that well anymore… well maybe I never knew him very well. You know how obsessed I was with him when I was younger."

"Oh, do I ever," Shikamaru commented with a nod. "If I recall, every girl in the school was obsessed with Sasuke; well, every girl except Hinata."

"Oh," Sakura said with a small smile. "That's right; she's always loved Naruto. Her reaction to him at the bar a few nights ago proves she still loves him."

"Hm," Shikamaru said as he filed this bit of information away for another time. He wasn't sure if Sakura would end up going for Naruto then… Sakura and Hinata had a great relationship, and Sakura was never one to want to step on other people's toes in the romance department. If she and Hinata were going up against each other for Naruto's love, Sakura would drop out…

Shaking his head, Shikamaru decided he would ponder Sakura and all the decisions she could make later. It was obvious Sakura didn't even know the feelings each of her teammates held for her. Her mind could change if she found someone she really wanted to be with.

"What did the inn-keeper say was for supper?"

"Sushi, I believe," Shikamaru said with a turn of his head. "Sushi and tomato salad."

"Tomatoes?" Sakura questioned with a raise of her eyebrow. "That's a dish that is usually not served around these parts."

"Hm," Shikamaru said with a slight smile. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Shikamaru took great pride in himself as he watched the wheels begin to turn in Sakura's mind. Right at this moment, he knew Sakura was beginning to suspect Sasuke for setting the whole hotel room fiasco up, when, in reality it had been himself who had done it… Sakura was suspicious of Sasuke enough with everything he had been pulling lately or Shikamaru had been _encouraging _him to pull… Sakura would have no problem believing Sasuke was the one to rent out the rooms.

Shikamaru watched Sakura shake her head slightly before they walked back to their room. Seeing the wall Sasuke had destroyed caused Sakura to frown. "I am not paying for that," she muttered as she walked through the door. The wall beside her had a large hole in it; burn marks and soot encased the whole wall.

"We'll make Sasuke do it," Shikamaru said with a nod as he too entered the room. Shikamaru was mildly surprised to find Sasuke lounging on one of the couches in the living room. He had a medical text book in his hands, and it looked like he had been reading it for a while.

The reading choice seemed to catch Sakura's attention too, because she immediately walked over to the Uchiha. "Are you really reading about ocular medicine?"

"Hn," Sasuke responded with a nod. "…With the kekkei genkai I possess, I thought it would be smart to read up a little on how the eye works. I'm not sure I got the complete understanding of it… will you help me?"

Shikamaru watched the two begin to talk with a look of slight wonder on his face. Just as he was about to mentally congratulate Sasuke on actually asking someone for help; his eyes caught sight of the Uchiha's. As Sakura was turned towards the book trying to explain something, Sasuke was staring straight at Shikamaru. As their eyes connected, Shikamaru was surprised yet again, to find the Uchiha smirking at him.

Raising an eyebrow, Shikamaru mentally chuckled. So Sasuke was planning on fighting back? Good, Shikamaru thought, it should make things a little more interesting.


End file.
